Hoc Est Bellum
by Jonathan Mark
Summary: A KOTOR fanfiction centered around Revan that deals mostly with the Mandalorian Wars. On hold.
1. What Can You Know?

**Chapter One:** What Can You Know?

* * *

"A Jedi seeks knowledge, because only through knowledge, can a Jedi make an informed and dispassionate decision, a rational decision. It is because of this that I say, _all ignorance is evil_." Master Dorak paced in front of the holodisplay, making occasional gestures towards the information displayed on the screen.

"Just over three decades ago, one of the most promising of our number fell to the Dark Side because of his ignorance and when he fell, he nearly dragged the galaxy with him." A high resolution image of a tall man with dark hair appeared on the display. Exar Kun, late Dark Lord of the Sith and fallen Jedi. "Exar Kun was ignorant of the dark side's corruption, ignorant of the damage it would cause. He believed he could create a golden age of power and prosperity." Master Dorak shook his head sadly. "In his ignorance, he became evil; in his ignorance, he killed millions."

Master Dorak opened his mouth to continue speaking, but then a robed figure stepped out of the darkness and in front of the holodisplay. Silhouetted by the light behind him, the figure turned to Master Dorak and bowed towards the Jedi Master.

"Master Dorak, if you do not mind, I have a question to pose." The voice was smooth and monotone. The speaker kept the pitch and volume of his voice under constant control.

"Of course Knight Kaviss, your contributions to these discussions are always welcome." There was a shadow of irritation through the Force, which suggested something contrary. The younger Jedi grinned.

"Thank you Master Dorak." The Jedi Knight turned towards the class of assembled padawans, still little more than a silhouette to their eyes.

"Master Dorak claims that it's Exar Kun's ignorance that perpetuated his fall and I agree." Kaviss paused, letting his statement sink in, giving the students time to think. "However, my question is not about Exar Kun's ignorance; I'm curious as to its source. Why was Exar Kun ignorant? He would have been warned repeatedly the dark side is dangerous. Perhaps Master Dorak has the answer?"

"I would suggest that it was Exar Kun's own disregard for the tutorship of his Jedi Masters that made him ignorant," Master Dorak replied. "You can only learn if you are willing to."

"You propose Exar Kun had defect in character? You argue ethical behavior comes from a virtuous character. If Exar Kun did not have a virtuous character, then he would be more susceptible to the lure of the dark side. However..." Kaviss trailed off.

"However?" Master Dorak asked.

"Claiming Exar Kun had a deficiency of character is an assumption. Did you know the man Master Dorak?"

"I did know him, not well, but I met him a few times. Obviously I did not know him well enough to say either way if he had a defect of character. It was only a suggestion in any case. No one can explain why Exar Kun was ignorant of the dark side's corruption." There was just a hint of irritation in Dorak's voice.

"I have an idea, if you do not mind hearing it."

"By all means, go ahead."

"Thank you, Master Dorak," Kaviss said with a nod.

Turning back to the padawans he addressed them. "I have a question for all of you; it's a yes or no question, so all you need to do is raise your hand. How many of you have broken a bone, any bone?" There was a group of raised hands among the padawans, about half the class. "Very good, now, I want someone that has never broken a bone to explain to me how it feels." There were a number of confused mutters.

"Knight Kaviss? I do not understand," a padawan spoke up. "How I can I explain how a broken bone feels, without having actually broken a bone?"

"That is an excellent question," Kaviss replied. "Intellectually, you are aware that breaking a bone is a negative experience. You don't need to experience it to know it would be painful. You can draw a conclusion based on already established facts. However, you cannot explain how it feels, because you do not know it from first hand experience. True knowledge begins with direct experience."

"Knight Kaviss, are you saying that Exar Kun was ignorant of the Dark Side because he never had direct experience with it?" That was a padawan in the second to front row. A pale skinned girl maybe in her early teens. Kaviss grinned again, even though no one could see it.

"How could Exar Kun fear something, when he lack's true knowledge of it? Understanding that a broken bone is harmful is not the same as having a healthy fear of the dark side. The dark side is intangible and mysterious. We speak of its dangers, and rightly so, but I would argue that the dark side is not something that can be truly feared and understood unless one experiences it directly."

That produced a flurry of shocked faces in the dim light of the holoprojector. Kaviss wanted to laugh as he imagined the thoughts scurrying about the minds of the padawans.

"That is a very interesting point you make Knight Kaviss; however, if you don't mind I do have a lecture to finish and while this discussion is certainly... provoking, I do not feel it is appropriate at this time." Dorak sounded completely in control, but Kaviss could feel the disgruntlement.

Kaviss was chuckling as he left.

* * *

"Was that necessary?" Master Dorak was not bothering to hide his frustration as he walked with Kaviss. The two of them strolled through the thousand fountains, their boots echoing on the stone pathways, barely audible next to the constant noise of the waterfalls. A myriad of flora and fauna, taken from various worlds across the galaxy covered the landscape of the Jedi Temple's most famous meditation hall.

"Of course it was; didn't you see their faces? They were _thinking_," Kaviss replied. "Come now Master, you shouldn't be surprised." Master Dorak sighed and stopped walking.

"The disappointing thing I'm not surprised. You are unorthodox and you challenge the decisions of the Council at every turn. Don't get me wrong, you were once a pupil of mine and I respect your reasons for believing the way you do, but those padawans were not prepared to hear what you had to say."

"All I did was challenge your statement regarding ignorance. Any indirect conclusions drawn from the discussion would be just that, indirect conclusions." Kaviss moved and stood in front of Dorak, holding out his arms in a gesture of apology. "If I overstepped my bounds, I apologize, but surely Jedi teachings are strong enough to hold up to my earnest cultivation of young minds."

"In theory, but the Order is... fragile right now, you know that. There are all these factions vying for a voice, demanding a change to the rules." Dorak shook his head. "The Council is still fairly new and they feel threatened by the lack of cohesion. People like you, radical voices that challenge the wave of conservative thinking, that bothers them."

"Because of Exar Kun, because of fear." Kaviss did not attempt to hide the contempt in his voice.

"Of course it is because of fear! Since you seem so confident of your grasp of epistemology perhaps you would like to explain to me how it is you know there is no reason for fear. After all you never 'directly' experienced the horrors of Exar Kun and you never 'directly' saw what he did. Clearly you are in a better position to judge what the Council should feel as a result of Sith War." Dorak spit the words like acid. Kaviss had never met a Jedi more difficult to upset then Master Dorak.

Kaviss opened his mouth, but then stopped. He deserved that, but he would not take back what he said. Fear and hesitation, however justified, were not successful mindsets.

"You make a point Master Dorak, a clever point; however, your point does not change the situation. It doesn't make fear and indecision any more valid than before, it only makes them more understandable."

"Yes, I thought you might see it that way." Master Dorak turned and glanced up at a nearby waterfall, seemingly watching as the water slid down a carved slope. "I did study the reports you know, from the front lines."

"Oh?"

"Three invasion corridors attacked overnight." Dorak sighed and shook his head sadly. "And for what? A misguided warrior ethos that brings only destruction with it."

"They are violent savages. What does the Council expect? That they will be defeated by the Republic alone?" Kaviss shook his head. "The Mandalorians are warriors, to the core they are professional soldiers."

"The Republic is not without its defenses."

"Inadequate defenses, if the disaster of the False War is to be any indicator. Mandalore made fools of some of the brightest minds in the Republic Navy."

"Maybe he will make fools of us all," Dorak muttered. Kaviss looked at him in surprise and received a blank stare in response. "Maybe he will even make a fool of you." Kaviss could barely hear those last words. "But I digress. I am tired. I will speak with you later." Dorak gave Kaviss a nod and left him standing there alone on the walkway.

* * *

"Something must be done about this Mandalorian menace!" Senator Akarius Vallin shouted. "They have raced down three invasion corridors overnight. They must be stopped and only by declaring a state of emergency can the proper resources be allocated to repulse the barbarians."

Kaviss, listened with distracted interest as the Galactic Defense Party, argued granting greater authority to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the cobbled together coalition of Republic Command. It was a haphazard merging of local fleets with the regular Republic Army and Navy. The command structure was an absolute mess. Planetary militias would be integrated into standing army units, often at random, based on what planets sent forces to the war effort and when. Command consisted of desk Admirals more attuned to politics than war, while field generals were forced to coordinate, often poorly, with the Rear Admirals along the front lines.

In contrast, the Mandalorians were unified behind one man and a highly professional and organized system. The irony was that the Republic forces outnumbered them by several magnitudes. Incompetence and a lack of proper organization was killing the Republic.

"The situation does not warrant such centralized control!" That was Senator Keida Eris from the powerful Mid Rim system of Antara . Racist against aliens and fiercely independent, the Antaran Confederation no doubt disliked the idea of their precious fleets falling under the direct control of the Joint Chiefs. "The Republic is principled on the idea that member systems have the right to self government and allocation of their military assets. The Senate cannot force systems to bow down before the grumbling of a few old admirals."

Senator Eris did not seem to suffer too badly from her world's xenophobic overtones, which Kaviss could appreciate, among other things about the beautiful Senator. It was really a pity that Senator Eris had to be on the wrong side of the political spectrum. _That didn't stop her from inviting you out to dinner_. "Something that worries me," Kaviss muttered to himself. He turned back to the Senate Chamber as one of the floating senatorial pods drifted outward so that a new voice could address the issue.

"I am inclined to agree with Antara's position. The Mandalorians can be defeated with the forces already deployed in the field. A State of Emergency would only propagate unrest and fear among the masses." It was the Senator from Corellia, typical of the arrogant Core system to cause more trouble.

"How can you stand there for hours and not get bored to death?" The question and voice belonged to Kaviss' best friend and fellow Jedi Knight, Alek Squinquargesimus. Alek tended to tower over most people and indeed, he gave the appearance of towering over Kaviss, although the two were closer in height that most people realized. Alek simply looked like a giant.

"It's politics Alek; you have no idea how entertaining it is to read the faces of these senators, to listen to the brief whispers of thought that float through the air." Kaviss grinned. He loved these games, loved the challenge of navigating through the word maze these senators spun. No other group in the galaxy could come close.

"If you say so," Alek muttered, doubtfully. Alek had never displayed any interest in politics, which suited Kaviss fine. Alek was not suited for reading people. Not that this was so much about reading people as more about shifting through all the garbage the senators were spewing and trying to find the rare gems of truth beneath.

"The session should be over soon and then we can-"

"-when are you going to take an apprentice?"

"What kind of random question is that?" Kaviss demanded, "and how does that relate at all with what we were just talking about?"

"It's a valid question I've been meaning to ask and I figured now would be good a time as any," Alek replied, shrugging as if it was a small issue. "You have been a Knight for six years now and yet in none of those six years have you decided to take an apprentice."

"Your point being?"

"When are you going to take a padawan?"

"I don't know Alek, when I find the right one. My standards are high."

"You mean strange; your standards are strange, not high."

"Whatever you say Alek." Kaviss paused and leaned back towards the window, watching as the senators began to file out of the massive chamber. The last of the Senators had given their closing arguments for the day and nothing more would happen until the Senate reconvened to vote. Normally the voting would have taken place now, but the arguments had dragged on too long. Worthless filibusters.

"You know they have a nickname for you?"

"Oh, what is it?" Kaviss rarely watched the holonet.

"The Revanchist, of all things, due to your aggressive policy of retaking captured systems from the Mandalorians."

"I suppose that at least leaves little doubt at where I stand." Labels could be useful, if properly applied.

"The Council is going to have a fit you know," Alek warned, but Kaviss waved his hand dismissively.

"Let the old bastards stew; their opinion is becoming increasingly meaningless to me anyways. They tell me we need to asses the situation, as if there was anything to asses!" Kaviss shook his head. "They are paralyzed by indecision, chained by the past."

"Exar Kun," Alek offered.

"He put the fear of the light into them and even now it still holds them in a vice grip."

"I heard about your stunt with Master Dorak's class," Alek chuckled, "figures you would be the one to ruin his class."

"I didn't ruin anything; I encouraged his students to think for themselves. The Order could use some independent thinking." Kaviss turned away from the window and stared towards the hallway that circled around the rotunda. "Padawans need to come to their own conclusions about the galaxy and the Force." It was getting darker out, with Coruscant's dwarf sun casting dim shadows across the sparkling cityscape.

"That's dangerous thinking," Alek said, following behind.

"Dangerous thinking is the best kind of thinking," Kaviss replied. Raising up his wrist he checked his chrono. It was getting late. "I have to go."

"Why? What's happening tonight?" Alek asked.

"I'm having dinner with Senator Keida Eris of Antara."

"Isn't that the beautiful blond lady that always shouts at the Senators of the Galactic Defense Party?" Kaviss grinned.

"The one and only. I'm going to convince her to switch sides and throw Antares support behind the GDP."

"And you will do this how?" Alek asked.

"I haven't a clue. She picked this very expensive restaurant, ridiculously expensive." Kaviss frowned as he considered how many credits this was likely to cost him. It was not as if Jedi just carried around credits to throw away like trash, well most Jedi did not. Some of the richer dynasties were sufficiently wealthy. Kaviss should know; he borrowed money from one of those richer dynasties.

"Do you even know this woman aside from her reputation?" Kaviss responded to a question like that with the expression it deserved, a flat frown. "Stupid question."

"We've met, spoken to each other at several senatorial functions, at length. You could say we are friends of a sort, star-crossed politically hostile friends. Due to my 'hardline' position on security, I have become something of a known political force. Why else would they be giving me nicknames?"

"Going out to dinner still seems rather personal."

"I suppose it is. It was not my idea mind you. She was the one who asked me if I was available and I could hardly refuse could I?"

"No, you really couldn't," Alek replied.

"Exactly, I suspect she noticed that I am beginning to gain considerable political support in high circles. I wonder if she expects to sway me to her side."

"The Independence Party?" Alek asked.

"That's the one she's part of; its lead by Corellia of course, naturally. With both Corellia and Antara having rebellious streaks in them, it makes sense for the two to be political bedfellows."

"And your goal is to convince her that it is in Antares' best interests to support the Galactic Defense Party?"

"Precisely."

* * *

Kaviss felt out of place. It was his dark brown robes. They were very plain and the high-class restaurant that he was in was most decidedly the opposite of plain. It was extravagance and luxury personified into a building. From where he sat, Kaviss could see the vast expanse of Coruscant below; an endless city of glittering lights that shined against the dark sky. It was such a strong contrast from where he had come from. Here in Coruscant, everything that was worth seeing shined or glittered. In a way it was ironic, because Coruscant was a barren rock beneath all that glitter. The ecosystem of this world had been devastated long ago, so now it was all artificial. The very air he breathed and enjoyed was processed. It was a wonder it did not glitter as well.

Kaviss also felt out of place when he considered the company he was keeping as she sat across from him. Keida apparently had some desire to make Kaviss feel more awkward then he already did. Her black dress, a luxurious item of nanosilk and glittering sparkles, had apparently been designed by someone who's sense of modesty was a quite bit different from anything Kaviss was aware of.

"Master Kaviss, I am so glad you could meet me like this," Keida said, smiling. She had done her hair up in elaborate pile of golden curls that still allowed blond ringlets to fall just short of her bare shoulders. Kaviss could have sworn she had spent hours arranging that hair.

"I'm not a Master, just a Knight," Kaviss corrected her and not for the first time. He thought she might have done it on purpose.

"My apologies Knight Kaviss." She smiled again, lighting up her face. Keida was one of those women that would look pretty doing anything. Smiling, scowling, frowning, glaring, shouting, crying, grinning. Name the expression and she would still look good.

"No, no, there is no need to apologize. It's a common mistake." Kaviss tugged at his menu―a small flexible datapad―with the Force and snatched it to his hands. Keida's eyes flashed briefly at the stunt and Kaviss could feel a slight blip of unease flowing from her presence in the Force. "Many people have a number of misconceptions about Jedi." That unease wavered, moving back and forth between curiosity and suspicion. That was just fine with Kaviss. The idea was to keep her guessing.

"I would recommend the Corellian Special, its one of the best platters this establishment serves," the Senator offered.

"Corellian you say? I wouldn't know, I've never been to a place this expensive in my life."

"It wasn't a burden to pay for was it?" It was almost quaint. The Senator _sounded_ concerned. She _looked_ concerned. The Force told Kaviss she was not.

"No; we Jedi are a big happy, sharing family." That was a load of shavit. Begging the Draay Estate for money had been one of the most embarrassing moments of Kaviss' life.

"I'm glad to know that this caused no stress on your part." Was that smugness he felt? He wanted to roll his eyes at senators and their vast wealth, at Keida and her vast wealth. "To be fair, I have been interested in your arguments for quite some time now. Those relating to the Mandalorian threat have piqued my interest."

"Couldn't you have simply watched them on the holonet? I am a Jedi, not a politician. What I say in public is no different than what I say in private." That was a lie, but she had to know that.

"Perhaps that is so, but you intrigue me Knight Kaviss. Perhaps because you are always hiding under that hood; perhaps because you had never said on the holonet why _you_ support the hardline approach. You only tell the public why it should be done. Even during our previous talks, you have always skirted around the issue. I know Jedi aren't the easiest people to make friends with, but you? I can pin down nothing about you."

"I spent the first five years of my life in some of the worst places imaginable. In places like that, the strong crush the weak on a daily basis. Perhaps this offends me; perhaps it upsets me when I see the Mandalorians moving unchecked through Republic space. I feel we should present a united front against such aggression."

"Your anger and drive is personal then," Keida noted, but Kaviss was already shaking his head, having heard the thought form in her head before she had spoken it.

"No, this isn't about me, this is about justice. This is about defending the Republic from one of the savage and violent cultures in the galaxy." Only careful control kept the anger from his voice. Unlike most Jedi, he did not suppress his negative emotions. He did not embrace them either―for obvious reasons―but he did not feel that holding them down would accomplish anything. He let them run their course, but did not let them control him. Denial of one's emotions helped no one.

"You have voiced your disapproval of my political stance before. Tell me again, but why?" Keida was eying him with an unreadable expression. However, through the Force, Kaviss could read her easily enough. She was still curious.

"I do not believe it is helpful." It was diplomatic as Kaviss would be on his opinion concerning her position.

"Have you considered that it is not my position so much as it is the position of my constituents? I am an elected official after all." She really did sound like she was trying to defend herself.

"Then I suggest you educate your constituents on the more violent aspects of this growing conflict." Kaviss said, in harsher tones then he intended. Keida cocked her head to the side, as if she was listening to something. It was the gesture people made when they had something to say, but were not sure how to say it. "The Mandalorians will not stop at the Outer Rim, or the Mid Rim, they will burn a path all the way to Coruscant if they can."

"You sound so certain." She paused and looked down at her own menu. "In any case, we can continue these discussions after we eat. I'm hungry." She looked at him and popped that smile again. "The Corellian special is a rather large serving. Would you like to share?" At her suggestion, Kaviss narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Share? If that's the case than you can pay for it and I can return the money I had to borrow."

"I thought the Jedi shared everything."

"I lied. I had to ask for credits from a friend in the Draay Family."

"The Jedi family dynasty here on Coruscant?"

"The one and only. Despite the Order's new focus on living simple lives free of possessions, such sentiments don't tend to stick when you are rich."She made a noise in response to that, an amused sound. Maybe she thought it was funny? Kaviss certainly didn't.

Keida pulled a credit chip from… somewhere, and inserted it into her menu. Kaviss' eyes nearly boggled as he saw the number flash across the screen. That was ridiculous! He could have fed himself for a standard month, maybe longer, on such a sum.

"Next time you and I eat together, I will expect you to pay." _There will be a next time?_ Kaviss hoped so; he could happily spend time with this woman.

"If I am going to be paying then I hope you like regular food, common food. The kinds of foods that poor bastards like me eat."

"You could save up the money the Order gives you," Keida replied.

"And starve just to please you?" Kaviss grinned. "I'm not that desperate, not yet anyways."

"You could at least show me your face, maybe try and look like you belong. I've been getting stares since I first sat down." In other words, she was telling him he stood out. Kaviss agreed with her.

Kaviss kept his face hidden for several reasons. Mostly because he liked to be able to move around freely with his hood down and not get swarmed by holonet reporters. He supposed it would not hurt to show his face at this place. Not even the reporters could afford this exercise in decadence. With a flick of the Force, he knocked his hood back, revealing his face to Keida.

"Hmm, it's almost a pity," she murmured as she stared at him. She was tapping a glittery nail against the tip of her chin, looking over him like Kaviss would look at an expensive piece of merchandise that he wasn't sure he liked or not.

"What is?"

"You have the face and the hair of a holovid actor, complete with the most stunning green eyes I've ever seen, yet you hide it under a hood all day."

"The less people know what I look like, the easier it is to avoid holonet reporters."

"Wouldn't someone like you want to be noticed by the reporters? Considering your aggressive political tendencies." Kaviss was shaking his head again. She did not understand, but then, he had not expected her to.

"None of this is about me; it's about what is best for the Republic. Who I am, is not important; however, my message is important. The Mandalorians must be stopped. If people start to focus on me, then they would forget my message."

"Your message doesn't sound―ah here is the food." An actual, living waitress, dressed almost as absurdly as Keida, arrived with a large platter of salad, some meat that Kaviss couldn't identify, and various side dishes. As his nose picked up the spicy smell rising from the meat, his stomach rumbled in anticipation.

"What kind of meat is that?" He asked.

"Smoked nerf. The salad is made from greens imported all the way from Corellia."

"Because importing lettuce from a location thousands of light years away, makes it taste better." Kaviss thought it was ridiculous. The money people would waste was beyond his ability to understand. He had been born on a miserable world in the Unknown Regions, and had never seen so much as a credit until Master Kreia had rescued him.

"It's a failing of the rich. We need to find ways to waste our vast mounts of wealth.," Keida said with a grin. Kaviss did not share her amusement and he made sure she realized it, compressing his lips into a flat line. As she involuntarily winced, Kaviss wondered if he was a bad Jedi for expressing his displeasure in such a way. "I am sorry, that was uncalled of me," she said. "I forgot that you came from a-"

"-it is nothing." Kaviss said, waving a hand dismissively, stopping her before she could blunder a second time.

"No, it isn't 'nothing.' I said something offensive and I shouldn't have." To Kaviss' surprise, the regret was genuine. Perhaps not all politicians were complete slime balls. Not that he would have ever categorized Keida as a slime ball. That term just did not fit her. A fine oil, scented of course. That was a more appropriate comparison.

"I thank you for your apology. In any case, I'm hungry, so unless you have any religious preferences you wish to observe before you eat, I'm going to dig in." Kaviss snatched up his fork and knife and was about to slice into the nerf when he felt it. Something was wrong. Quietly, he set his utensils down and instinctively glanced over towards a table across the floor.

There was a woman, looking like someone Kaviss would expect for a patron of this place. She had dark black hair, wore fancy red nanosilk dress, and had huge brown eyes. Mentally, Kaviss filed her appearance away for future reference. Everything looked normal, except something was wrong. The Force was telling him that not all was right. _She is alone_. That was odd, although not a valid enough reason for Kaviss to bother her.

"Is something wrong?" Keida asked.

"There could be. I sense something." Kaviss' shoulders itched. He wanted to stand and glance around at the danger racing from behind him. Except there was nothing save for the woman at the other table. What was the problem then?

"You sense something? What does that mean?"

"It means that–" Kaviss stopped and closed his mouth. How could he possibly explain this to someone that had no knowledge of any kind of what the Force was? _Another issue to where the definition of knowledge rears its head_. If he wasn't sensing a disturbance in the Force, Kaviss might have chuckled. "It means that something is wrong or at least the Force is disturbed by something. It is nothing major, just like an itch on my shoulder. Something is out of place and to be honest it might not even be here at the restaurant." Kaviss sighed. "Forget about it."


	2. Doubt

**Chapter Two:** Doubt

* * *

"Zoom in here, on his face. Yes, yes, very good!" Zarik Charr, scrambled about the system of holoprojectors, hastily giving orders to the techs working on post production clips for Coruscant's nightline news feature. "This is excellent; we are the only ones with an actual clip of his face!" Zarik clapped his pudgy hands in glee. Coru-Newscorp's ratings would skyrocket on the holonet after this footage was broadcast. "Make sure you get his eyes! His eyes! And blast it, can't we get the sound quality any better? I want to hear what they are saying!"

"We didn't get permission for this; the Senator could sue us for that," one of the techs said doubtfully.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Zarik snapped. "Get on with it!"

"I did rather well didn't I?" Charlettas Korr smiled and tugged at her red dress, curling her full lips into a sneer. "He looked at me once and I thought for sure he was about to walk over and ask what I was doing妖amn Jedi and their senses傭ut he didn't. He talked with her until the early hours of the morning and never looked over at me again."

"You did marvelous my dear, absolutely marvelous. As soon as the techs are finished, we should have this on the midday news." Zarik was rubbing his hands together in anticipation. None of the other news agencies had managed to get a look at the Revanchist's face; the man was notoriously private, but Zarik's genius had landed him the prize that all the major channels had been desperately after.

The Revanchist sat at a table with the well known Senator from Antara, eating and conversing. In Zarik's mind, it was a curious occurrence. Politics being such a money maker, he was aware of the political associations of the Revanchist and Antara's Senator. Why would two political enemies be engaged in such a private discourse? A secret relationship? Hidden alliances? Zarik had no idea, but that hardly mattered because he didn't have to know. All he had to do was make light of it on the holonet and the millions of viewers would do the rest for him.

Rumor would give birth to dozens of children and those children would give birth to their own children and so on, until the original story had been mangled and twisted into utter nonsense.

And Zarik was going to make a fortune off of it all.

* * *

Kaviss was not used to failure; he was used to success. Tonight had been a failure. Keida had not wavered in her opinion, fear of her constitutes made sure of that. If Kaviss had been feeling vindictive he supposed he could of accused her of being weak in the face of an impending crisis, but Kaviss found it impossible to hold any negative feelings towards the woman. Keida had that particular power that even years of Jedi control couldn't ignore.

At least the night had not been a complete failure. They had another dinner planned next standard week. Kaviss was fine with that.

Alone in the temple's practice yard, he was standing still in the center of a large training mat. It was in the early morning, but Kaviss had needed some way to work his frustrations out and slicing up saber training droids was always a good way to do so.

_Snap hiss._

A blue blade flashed out suddenly, stabbing towards Kaviss as one of the training droids jumped out from the darkness. Moving on instinct alone, Kaviss leaped aside, falling into a roll, deftly moving out of the droid's range. A flash of images flickered in his mind's eye, telling Kaviss what would happen next. A second droid was rushing towards Kaviss from behind, even as the first one rushed towards his left.

With a pump of his legs and a boost of the Force, Kaviss burst into the air and flipped over the first droid, his blue saber flashing out in midair to knock aside a stab towards his midsection. With reflexes only a machine had, the droid whirled around and attempted to slam its durasteel fist into Kaviss' gut the moment the Jedi landed. Having already seen the move, Kaviss, slashed across with his saber, slicing off the droid's hand in a shower of sparks. He would have continued to slice the machine up, but droid number two stopped him with its sudden arrival. Kaviss dodged backwards, using the Force to enhance his distance, evading a slash at his torso.

Having put space between the droids, Kaviss threw his saber at droid number two, while he rushed droid number one, moving to slam the machine with a kick to its photoreceptors. That didn't go as planned when both droids opened with a flash of blaster fire from their built in stunners. Without his saber in hand, Kaviss held up his palms and reflected the bolts with the Force alone, directing them back towards the droids even while he used the Force to summon his deactivated saber from its spot on the floor where it had been knocked aside.

Droid number one with its missing left hand had switched into a Makashi form, while droid number two was putting its metal mass to its advantage, using the powerful Djem So form.

Kaviss closed his eyes and rushed forward to meet them, bringing up his saber in a defensive routine, using the Force to guide his movements, deflecting the sudden furious flurry of blows. If he had his eyes open, he could have seen the flares of light that lit up the training room like lightning. Instead, his physical sight showed only darkness. He was relying on his metaphysical sight; warning him of the sudden fluctuations in energy from the Force invisible droids, guiding his saber, knocking away blows that would have overcome him otherwise.

Spinning his saber into a line of defense, Kaviss began to move back, looking for an opening. Normally, his favored tactic was to combine elements from Soresu and Makashi, using the precise and economical movements of both forms to tire his enemy out before striking for the weak spots. Soresu provided the tight defense, while makashi offered a set of deadly offensive maneuvers. In most situations, it provided a formidable combination, a combination worthy of a master. Should a deficiency arise, Alek's Djem So, could fill the gap. The two of them always worked together anyways. Not tonight though and Kaviss had a problem.

Droids did not grow tired. Droids did not make mistakes. Kaviss would have to adapt and use less familiar tactics. Of course, that was the point of all this anyways. Kaviss savored the challenge, the test of skill.

He threw his body forward into a series of powerful swings, using his significant mass and size to fall into a basic djem-so attack routine in an attempt to bash through the weakened defense of droid number one. The machine's makashi programming attempted to compensate for the powerful blows by using the droid's superior mass to augment the otherwise kinetically weak makashi defense.

There was a shriek and flash of light as Kaviss knocked away a deflecting strike, sliding his saber down in a spray of sparks, slicing off the droid's second hand, sending its training saber flying. Kaviss had only a split moment, whirling around to face the second droid, just barely defecting a stab towards his side. Applying too much pressure, Kaviss overextended his arm. The droid, seizing the brief advantage, slammed its durasteel shoulder into Kaviss' side, knocking him backwards. _That hurt._

Using the Force to control his saber, Kaviss telekinetically knocked aside an overhead strike, rolling away and whirling around to catch the saber as it fell. He wasn't accustomed to djem-so movements; for all of its power, djem-so still required measured levels of pressure, something Kaviss needed practice in. It was something the droid noticed as it quickly flew into a flurry of powerful blows made up of wide swings. The rapid sequence of blows and parries lit up the room, casting brief shadows as Kaviss and the droid dueled. F_ocus... utilize soresu defense, wait for the weak spot and then strike with makashi._

The difficulty of course, was in finding a mistake.

Droids didn't make mistakes. Droids would act within their programming. For now, a solid defense was Kaviss' best option. His face tightened as the droid shoved him back, his strict soresu movements flashing to keep the droid's saber away.

Kaviss fell into a second series of djem so attacks, halting the droid's advance. As the two of them stood there, blades flashing-connecting, Kaviss flicked a slider on his saber and dodged to the side as his saber instantly shortened in length, avoiding a blocking strike by the droid. As his blade passed, Kaviss flicked the slider again, extending the blade back to normal length. Sparks and molten chunks of durasteel sprayed off the suddenly headless droid as Kaviss completed his swing.

There was a loud crashing sound as the droid collapsed in a heap at Kaviss' feet.

Droids didn't make mistakes, but droids couldn't think past their programming. Kaviss had never programmed his training droids with Trakata. His lightsaber possessed several unique features that he hand't programmed his droids for, the first being the omniphase capability. Dual phase sabers were rare, but Kaviss had yet to find another Jedi with a lightsaber that could phase along a gradient instead of just two predefined settings. Master Kreia was a master of trakata and had trained Kaviss in its use which resulted in his desire for an omniphase saber. The second feature was perhaps the more unique of the two. Kaviss' saber had weight to it and not just in the hilt.

In the core of the blade, a secondary containment field held together a matter stream of neutrons emitted from a specially designed generator. With a second slider on his hilt, Kaviss could control the density of the matter stream, giving the blade weight enough to match a light blade; combine that potential kinetic power with the natural destructive power of the blade and Kaviss could tear into most opponents with ease.

He could kill with ease, with his lightsaber.

He stood there, staring at his humming blue lightsaber as the droids smoldered, stood there and asked the same question he always did whenever he considered his weapon.

Why did Jedi carry lightsabers?

It was an absurd question; Jedi carried lightsabers because that's what Jedi did, no one questioned things like that.

Kaviss would ask again.

Why did Jedi, a group dedicated to doing no harm, a group dedicated to peace and civilization why did Jedi carry one of the most lethal weapons in the galaxy? A weapon that could kill with a tap?

It was because the Jedi needed to defend themselves. That is what people would say.

There were weapons that could disable and stun. Jedi weren't supposed to kill, not unless all other options had been tried and tried very hard! But a saber? It was so easy to kill with a lightsaber, easy to maim, and to destroy.

Master Kreia had raised Kaviss to question everything. Everything was to be doubted. That's what Kreia had told him, repeatedly.

_Truth? The truth is real, but I dare any one of us to find it. Even as you doubt everyone else, don't forget. Doubt me as well._

_

* * *

_

Morning found Kaviss in meditation, alone in silence, his thoughts, and his past. He hadn't slept, but such issues were trivial for a Jedi, not when the Force was right at Kaviss' fingertips.

The gentle sounds of water filled the air as they resonated from the various fountains in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Kaviss came here often. He did a lot of thinking; it seemed that his mind was always bursting with questions and doubts. Maybe they would call him the Doubting Jedi? In this respect, Kaviss envied Alek. For all the fact that Kaviss was stronger in the Force, Alek was not plagued by doubt. Alek was a man firm in his convictions.

_"You have a unique gift and curse. You have the trait of genius and that will follow you wherever you go, whatever you believe. In everything you are told and in everything you see, the inner critic within you will question."_

_"Is this a bad thing?"_

_"No, but it is a dangerous thing."_

"Dangerous indeed," Kaviss whispered. To be a Jedi was to trust in the Force to guide one's decisions and feelings. The Order did not train Jedi to act in an intellectual fashion, they were trained to have a faith in a power higher than they were. Kaviss had no such faith. The Force was a tool. A field of energy that he could manipulate as a result of possessing the correct genetics. To trust in it for guidance and sacrifice his intellect, it was something Kaviss could not and would not do.

Kaviss stood from his seat and checked his chrono, noting with surprise that it was almost noon. He had been mediating for hours. It was easy to lose track of the time when you were in deep meditation. Temporal and physical concerns vanished in such a state. Even the familiar illusion of self could disappear if one delved deep enough. Kaviss had accomplished this several times. A paradox created by the limitations of the human mind.

Perhaps an example of the limitations of human intellect as well?

Kaviss shook his head and dismissed such thoughts. If he could not rely on his reason, then he could rely on nothing at all. Even faith in the Force required one to reason that faith in the Force was preferred over faith in the intellect.

_Through my intellect, I learn that faith in my feelings is to be preferred over faith in my intellect. However, if faith in my feelings is to be preferred over faith in my intellect, then should I not ignore what my intellect tells me and ergo not place faith my in feelings? However, if I do not place faith in my feelings and instead place faith in my intellect, than should I not act on my reason and place faith in my feelings?_

Kaviss had no such internal contradictions. His intellect did not tell him to use his feelings. As for his feelingsthey told him to trust in his intelligence. He was not the only Jedi that believed in such things either. His old master, Dorak, was also a believer in the intellect.

"There you are," Alek said from behind. Kaviss was not surprised; he had felt Alek's presence approaching for several minutes now.

"Here I am indeed," Kaviss replied, turning around. "What is it?" Instead of answering, Alek simply stared at him.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Over twenty four hours ago. Does it show?

"You look terrible. How long did dinner last?"

"Until the early hours of the morning. I couldn't convince her of anything, so I came here, sliced up my training droids and then decided to mediate."

"Sounds like a full day." Alek grinned. "So, how was it?"

"Dinner? Ridiculous, completely ridiculous. You wouldn't believe how much smoked nerf from Corellia costs," Kaviss said as the two of them walked along the path leaving the gardens. "Thankfully, I managed to convince her to pay."

"You can't do that!" Alek protested.

"And why not? We shared a single meal; I sure wasn't going to pay for something if she was willing. Now, I can pay back that coreslime Lucien Draay and his overly rich family." A thought occurred to Kaviss. "Aren't you friends with his murdering ex-Padawan?" Alek was shaking his head.

"Well I'm friends with him yesbut he's not a murderer. It's all a big misunderstanding and I'm sure it will be cleared up."

"Because he rescued you from Mandalorians?" Alek had gone on an expedition with a number of Kaviss' more enthusiastic "followers" and had managed to do a wonderful job of getting themselves captured by Mandalorians. The Council had had a field day with that, worsening their already low opinion of Kaviss.

"He's a good Jedi, Kaviss. Somehow, I just didn't see anything related to the dark side within him."

"Whatever; he is of little consequence to me in any case." Kaviss went over a mental checklist, making note of the great many things he needed to do. One in particular came to mind. "We planned to head to Cathar right?" He asked Alek.

"Uh, yes." Alek shook his head and muttered something under his breath, to low for Kaviss to hear.

"Although you haven't told me why."

"Oh don't worry. I have very good reasons on why we should go to Cathar. In fact I say we should leave by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Isn't that kind of short notice?"

"What? How hard is to procure a transport? Just because Cathar is an Outer Rim world doesn't mean it's not assessable. We will be back before the week is over, trust me." Kaviss grinned. "Well we had better be back before the week is over, otherwise I'd miss my next date with Senator Eris and we can't have that now can we?" Alek chuckled.

"Hardly." He said. Kaviss was about to reply when suddenly, he stopped. "I haven't even checked the holonet yet!"

"For what?" Alek asked.

"The vote! Today was the vote on declaring a State of Emergency." Kaviss hurried out of the gardens with Alek close in tow. He received a few glances as he rushed down the halls of the Jedi Temple, but was otherwise ignored until he reached the door to his room.

Master Kavar stood outside.

"Master Kavar? Always a pleasure to see you but Kaviss started to say, but Kavar held up a hand.

"I wanted to talk to you first since you and I have tended to get along and this could be an issue." Kavar said the words in a tone of voice that immediately told Kaviss that something was wrong.

"Is something wrong Master Kavar?"

"No, not officially, but I think you should take a look at noon's newscast on the holonet." _The vote?_ Kaviss' first thought was it had gone bad for the GDP, but that couldn't be it. Kavar would not have been so solemn if that was the case. He stepped inside his room and quickly switched on his holoreciever.

"What do you think Master Kavar is so upset about?" Alek asked, falling into the room's only chair.

"I have no idea, but I'm about to find out," Kaviss muttered in response, flashing through the holonet channels. There was the usual mess of nonsense, one of the reasons he hardly listened to the media, but nothing on the vote. As far as he could tell they were still deliberating. What had Kavar been talking about?

Then he saw it.

"The Revanchist and Senator Keida Eris of Antara were seen early this morning at a high class restaurant in Upper Coruscant, in what appears to be a friendly dinner, or perhaps more? See the closeup holos of the Revanchist's face, brought to you by Coru-Newscorp!" Kaviss' face flashed onto the screen, along with images of him talking to Keida.

"How?" He trailed off as the truth hit him. The disturbance he had felt, the danger. He had assumed it would be physical, a threat to on his life. The Force didn't work that way though, it would whisper of all dangers, all truths. "I was blind!" He hissed.

"What are you talking about?" Alek asked. Kaviss him heard from rise from the chair and suddenly his face was beside Kaviss', watching the holonet. "Oh wow," He whispered.

"Yes, yes, wow!" Kaviss threw up his hands and clicked the receiver off. "The Force was warning me, warning me! And I ignored it." There was frustration, burning like a fire in his chest. Fearfully, he slammed it down. Acknowledging the existence of negative feelings was one thing, but sometimes it was better just to deny them. _Eat my own words..._

"As I said, I wanted to speak to you first before the others did. The council will not be happy." Kavar had stepped inside. "Jedi are supposed to keep a minor profile, to stay out of the public eye, especially in times like this. Your actions have not helped the situation although to be fair to you, you couldn't have known this would happen."

"That's just it!" Kaviss growled. "How could they know where to find us? How did they know what restaurant?" He began to pace. "They knew exactly where I would be and had the money ready to book a table at one of the most expensive places to eat in Coruscant. They _knew_ everything they needed to know."

"You think someone told them?" Alek was frowning and no wonder. "But who could have he closed his mouth as the answer became clear.

"Keida," Kaviss whispered, "either Keida or someone on her staff." He shook his head, pressing his hands to his forehead. "But why?"

"Image is everything in politics," Kavar said. "You are a known supporter of the GDP and Keida is a leading member of the opposing party. The two of you sharing a private dinner at such an expensive place speaks of a great many things."

"Things that might make my allies in the GDP wary of associating with me." Kaviss clenched his fists. He had been played, played like a fool with a bad sabbac hand. Wasn't he supposed to be a genius, a veritable prodigy? _Apparently not._ He took a deep breath and forced down his anger. "Master Kavar, I must thank you for bringing this to my attention before the other masters do. At the very least, I will have something to tell them in response, an explanation." Kaviss cared little about what the Council thought of him, but he was still a Jedi and consequences were consequences.

"Just remember; don't take this personally," Kavar warned. "Keida is a politician and she is doing what politicians do very well, deceive. Even Jedi are not infallible."

"Oh I completely agree, Master Kavar," Kaviss said as a smile began to form on his face. If the schutta was going to make him look the fool, then he was sure as hell going to return the favor.


	3. Rules of War

**Chapter Three:** Rules of War

* * *

Thousands of ships littered the space above Dxun, massive monoliths of durasteel and millions of hardened warriors. They glistened in the light of Onderon's sun, the photons reflecting off the layers of armor, scattering through the vacuum. There was no other fleet like it in the entire galaxy, nothing so grand, so dignified in purpose. It was life and it was glory.

Moreover, history would remember it as the creation, the life, of Mandalore the Ultimate, the man that would bring the Republic to its knees. This was his glory, his immortality. The weakling Republic did not understand. They did not understand war, not as Mandalore did. He knew war, he was war. He was a god, a titan, a king, a force of nature. He was all these things, but he was missing the most important thing of all.

A challenge.

The Republic had proven no challenge to his tactics or his plans. His men easily crushed all resistance. How was a god expected to prove his worth against mere mortals? The Republic shied away from war, saw it as abhorrent, crippled by the weakling morality of the nerf herd.

Mandalore would liberate them through the fire of the turbolaser cannon, the smoldering heat of the nuclear warhead and the unflinching determination of his warriors.

"If only they were worthy," a whisper through his helmet, spoken to his most trusted officer, Cassius Fett.

"Drive them into a corner and perhaps they will be. Kill their civilians, rape their worlds, spill the blood of billions and watch the galaxy tremble. Then, perhaps, they shall be worthy." Cassius leveled each word like a blaster bolt; his tone never changed but his tone never had to change. His words were always explosive bursts of meaning. Cassius spoke the truth as he saw it and let others form their own conclusions. Mandalore admired that in an officer. If one could not understand, then that was their failing.

"If there is anything left after the fires we will unleash, then perhaps they will fight back with worth. They will lose, like a caged kath hound that fights till the end, but at least they might provide us with some sport."

"One can only hope." Cassius didn't sound very hopeful, not that anyone but Mandalore would have noticed.

"Mandalore does not hope, I know." He chuckled and turned his back from the bridge viewscreen. Behind him on the holoprojector was a complex three-dimensional image of Republic space. "Tell me Cassius, of what do you think of my plan?" He motioned towards the holoprojector as it began to flash lines of attack into Republic space, lines of attack that Mandalore had developed.

"It is a bold maneuver, striking so far into their space, so fast." Cassius pointed a finger. "I do appreciate the concept of continuing three lanes of attack and the converging at the Mid Rim; however, your strategy hinges on the Republic's inability to create a cohesive defense."

"You believe they will? They are disorganized, a mess of system militias under the command of a council of flag officers." Mandalore barked a laugh. "Who ever heard of such nonsense?"

"Only a fool develops a strategy that hinges on the folly of his enemies." No one could ever claim Cassius was not blunt. "Your strategy is dangerous and could become Pyhrric if the Republic mounts a successful counter offensive on even one of the invasion corridors."

"And if they are unable to?"

"Then you will open a direct line to the core worlds."

"And force the hound into a corner." Mandalore steepled his gauntleted hands in anticipation. He had planned his invasion, this war, on the keystone that the Republic's response would not be cohesive. There was an irony in this. The Republic had the men and the ships to repel the Mandalorians. Their numbers dwarfed those of Mandalore's by many magnitudes; however, numbers were useless if not properly used.

"Are you sure of your objectives?" Cassius asked. "To drive them into a corner, or defeat them quickly?"

"Both can be accomplished at the same time without a division of goals."

The first rule of war, know your objectives. Mandalore knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it. The Republic lacked any such certainly in their actions. They had a vague idea that they wanted to drive his warriors away, but they lacked any cohesion in working towards a series of realistic goals. They floundered, unsure of what to do.

"And if they realize what you are trying to do?" The question was mechanical. Cassius wasn't asking the question because he wanted an answer. He was helping Mandalore reassure himself. "You have deceived them so far; will they make the same mistake twice?"

"The Republic lacks the strategic model to understand my plans; they don't even understand my motivations." Mandalore brushed the worry aside.

The third rule of war, deceive your enemy. Mandalore had staged the False War as a diversion, hiding his true strength while drawing the Republic away, lulling them into complacency. Then he had struck overnight along three attack corridors.

No mercy, no hesitation.

"Motivation." Cassius was pacing around the holoprojector. "They do not know your motivation, but do you know theirs?" He leaned his face through the projection, the blue and red lights reflecting off his yellow armor. "Do they defend one unified home, or many homes?"

"They are fractured; they lack cohesion. They defend many homes, many lands, not one."

The second rule of war, know your enemy. War was not about seeking the enemy out, something that would no doubt draw the ire of his warriors if they knew he felt that way. No, war was about winning. Mandalore had deceived the Republic, giving him time to identify the weak points in the Republic system. He had observed holonet reports of the Senatorial debates, listened to them as they argued with each other. Mandalore had discovered the cracks in the Republic.

Know your enemy's strengths and know his weakness. Mandalore had found them and as a result had developed a strategic model for dealing with the Republic's larger fleets.

A model grounded in the logic that the Republic could not function as a single unit in the most critical moments. Mandalore had attacked three corridors because he had known that the Republic would not be able to respond to them. A careful analysis of the debates in the Senate showed that domestic priorities took place over sound strategy.

The representatives from each of the three corridors of systems that Mandalore had attacked would be arguing that they should be the ones to receive aid. The flag officers, grounded in politics, had yet to organize a cohesive response, because they could not make up their minds about which systems to focus on.

"If they defend many lands and many homes, it will be difficult to occupy the Republic," Cassius pointed out.

"I'm not trying to occupy the Republic," Mandalore said, "I'm trying to destroy it,"

"You have identified their weakness, but have you developed a sufficient concentration of resources to exploiting those goals, to destroying the Republic?"

"I have devoted all efforts to continuous attacks on key Republic worlds and systems. The systems with names; the systems with power."

Fourth rule of war, force concentration. Once objectives are established and prioritized, then a sound general will concentrate all of his forces on completing those objectives. Mandalore had discovered a weakness in the Republic psychology and sociological makeup. As a result, he applied the principle of force concentration on this weak spot. They had the greater numbers, but they lacked a concentration in both a physical and mental framework.

Cassius stepped back from the projector and walked back around to where Mandalore could see him. "You are sure of victory; you have followed the rules. The Republic has not followed the rules."

The Republic did not have a clear goal.

The Republic had failed to deceive him, had failed to even make the attempt.

The Republic did not know him.

The Republic had not concentrated its forces.

The Republic did not know the rules of war and because of this, Mandalore would crush them. Cassius suddenly leaned forward, his helmet all but touching Mandalore's.

"However, always remember. There are no rules of war."

* * *

Canderous Ordo watched in silence as the men under his command preformed their daily drills and training sets. Through his bravery and skill, Mandalore had awarded him the rank of Commander and Rally Leader. His job was to see that the warriors of Clan Ordo were up to task and preformed as Mandalore desired. He took his job very seriously, as any good Mandalorian would. Weakness and sloppiness could not be tolerated. Open that door and suddenly you would find a force no more worthy than the pathetic Republic.

Except, Mandalore had opened that door.

On each of the worlds they had captured, Mandalore had ordered thousands of citizens force pressed into the Mandalorian ranks. None of them were true warriors; they were terrified civilians forced to fight. They were sloppy, weak, and worthless as anything besides fodder for Republic gun emplacements.

Canderous was annoyed, and rightfully so, when he learned he would be forced to incorporate a cohort of the useless nerfs into his command. However, like any proper Mandalorian, he adapted to the situation. He had organized the nerfs into their own front line units. They would advance first into enemy fire as a distraction, giving Canderous time effectively use his own men without wasting them on frontal assaults. In this way, Canderous would kill two mynocks with one blaster bolt. Get rid of these useless nerfs and use them effectively as a disposable buffer.

He could even use them to deceive Republic lines.

A unit of the nerfs, presented as a genuine attack force to draw away a Republic position. The Republic soldiers would easily smash though the nerfs. They would feel victorious, believing the Mandalorians were not as dangers and fearsome as everyone believed. Then Canderous, having lured them away from their formation, their lines, would pounce on them while they were exposed. It was speculation only, but what was battle planning of not educated speculation?

A true warrior can adapt to the circumstances as they change. A true warrior always understands that the lines on a holoprojector are nothing more than a guess at what may happen. A true warrior will prepare for the worst and fight for the best, adapting to whatever comes at him.

The Republic had shown no ability to adapt, to make sacrifices. They expected the best and fought for the worst. False warriors ran the Republic, for all of its advanced military hardware and vast navies, false warriors could not win this war.

"Commander Ordo!" A voice cracked over Canderous' intercom, his helmsman.

"What is it?" Canderous demanded.

"Mandalore as sent out a fleet wide alert; we are to jump for Serroco immediately."

"Ah, finally. Send out an order to all Ordo vessels to prepare for the Serroco jump," Canderous barked.

"Yes sir!" The helmsman responded, signing off.

After the Republic's primary task force had been humiliated in the Vanqo system, they had run so far with tail between legs, that they ended up resupplying and regrouping at the Core world of Ralltir. That had left the outer edges of the Mid Rim open to invasion, defended as they were by thin sector fleets. Everyone had fully expected Mandalore to strike at key Mid Rim worlds, except he had not. The reasoning at not been clear until only recently.

One of the Republic's Rear Admirals was apparently smarter than the rest of his ilk. The retreat to Ralltir had been a ploy, a trap to try to get Mandalore to overextend his reach. A sizable Republic task force had gathered in orbit over the backwater world of Serroco, waiting to strike at Mandalore when he invaded the Mid Rim.

"But the fools violated the second rule of war. They do not know Mandalore." The Republic had not realized Mandalore would notice such a simple ploy and so Mandalore had decided to strike at Serreco itself. Serroco was a strategically insignificant target, on the maps at least. "No battle plan survives first contact." The lines had changed and Mandalore had adapted, like a true warrior. The Republic would not know what had hit them.

Canderous was laughing as his ship jumped into hyperspace.


	4. Battle of Serroco

**Chapter Four:** Battle of Serroco

* * *

"Do you really think this will work?" Lieutenant Carth Onasi asked his commander and mentor, Admiral Saul Karath.

"Maybe, maybe not," Karath grunted. He was in one of his thinking poses, rubbing the scrub at his chin.

"You don't sound very hopeful." Carth pulled at the collar of his orange flight jacket. The damn thing could get itchy as hell sometimes.

"This is war, hope is for fools. The only thing that matters in war is strategy and tactics. Hope is good only as a source of morale for the noncoms and enlisted men."

The two of them were speaking in low tones on the bridge of the _Swiftsure_, Karath's command ship, a massive three kilometer wide Inexpugnable class capital ship. In orbit over the blue and green ball that was Serroco, it drifted in loose formation with the rest of the fleet. Bridge crew moved about some console to console, checking systems and preparing to jump into hyperspace at a moment's notice. They kept a wide berth around Admiral Karath. Everyone could tell he was in a foul mood.

"Officers need morale too," Carth muttered under his breath.

"They do, but the enlisted men cannot know that. In our eyes, victory must always be assured. Officers are officers because they realize that there is nothing about war being hopeful about. Morale is for the lower ranks, the men not trained to think, but to obey. You and I, we're officers; we see the risks, know the costs. An officer has no room for doubts or to worry over his own morale. He may do so in private, but never in front of the men."

"Yes sir," Carth said, still worried. Morale was horrible and with the Republic becoming humiliated at every turn, it was only getting worse. The men needed a victory, something to show them that victory was even possible.

"This wouldn't have happened if the Senate was unified in its actions."

"Sir?" Carth blinked at the sudden change in topic.

"The Senate; they are the reason we have done so poorly. They pressure the admirals on Coruscant to support some world or another, stretching our lines thin and allowing the Mandalorians free reign in our space." He slammed a fist into his palm. "They place domestic priority over military concerns, idiots! This is a war and wars are not fought by committee, they are fought by a chain of command using sound strategy and tactics." He began to pace along the bridge, drawing the attention of the other bridge crew. "How am I expected to fight like this?"

"You did manage to convince them to set up a fleet here," Carth offered.

"A surprise to be sure," Karath said, "no one cares about Serroco, but when I pitched the idea to the Joint Chiefs as a way to draw Mandalore in and crush him while protecting several key worlds at the same time... they were more than happy to give me the command." He chuckled. "I made sure to list Antara and a few other important names in my list, even though Antara is too deep into the Mid Rim for Mandalore to strike."

"Antara is one of the leading systems of the Independence Party, correct?" Carth only had a vague notion of politics. Telos was an important world, but it was hardly a political heavyweight and even if it was, no one was going to tell a junior officer anything.

"Antara is a thorn in the side of any competent general. She and Corellia possess considerable defense fleets and control the actions of systems with fleets that could relieve us on key fronts, but that would require their defense fleets to come under the direct command of the Joint Chiefs, which they won't do."

Carth frowned. "But why not simply make a compromise? Have their fleets under the control of their respective military officers and simply have them work with the Joint Chiefs."

"Because this is a war; the Joint Chiefs want complete control over all military assets, as it should be. The Independence Party refuses to go along with the idea and they control the Senate right now. The GDP is struggling to gain support among the undecided blocks and gain a majority to force the Chancellor to declare a State of Emergency, which would give him the power to draft any fleet he chooses." The Admiral shook his head. "Of course, the Chancellor is from Corellia!" He started to laugh. "Ah, a great joke is not? Politics will kill us all." His expression turned grim. "And Mandalore knows it."

"What happened?" Carth asked. "How... how did it come to this? The Republic fought off the Sith during the war not even forty years ago. We fought hard, and we won!" He clenched his fists in anger. Anger at what politics were doing to this war. He hadn't signed on and left his wife and son alone to fight a war killed by men and women that had never seen so much as a blaster bolt.

"Jedi," the Admiral barked the word almost like a curse, or a prayer. Carth couldn't tell.

"Jedi?"

"Jedi, yes." He nodded his head. "When the Jedi tell you that you are facing a great enemy, no one disagrees, no one argues. Senators that would otherwise disagree fall silent and everyone unites... because the Jedi said so…"

"…Except the Jedi have refused to help us," Carth finished for him.

"Yes, and because of that, the Senate is splintered, fractured by domestic and electorate concerns. How pathetic are–"

"–Admiral! I'm picking up hyperspace contacts, ships dropping out of hyperspace at the edge of the system!" The helmsman said.

"Identify them!" The Admiral barked.

"Yes sir!" The Helmsman paused. "Sir... there are several thousand of them! Mandalorians, thousands of Mandalorian ships."

Admiral Karath paled.

* * *

"Leaving hyperspace!" The helmsman shouted as Mandalore's personal Dreadnought dropped into realspace.

"Contact count," Mandalore ordered.

"Thousands in a loose formation over the planet."

"Hmm... what to do." Mandalore would have scratched his chin, if he actually had a rounded one. Taungs had sharp reptilian facial features unlike the human primates. "Tell the fleet to stay just outside of Republic weapons range." He turned to Cassius. "Order tactical to prepare the warheads for fire, tell them to aim straight for the planet and ignore the Republic ships."

"You plan on burning this world?" Cassius asked.

"The Republic built their bases next to civilian centers." Mandalore pointed towards a display of Serroco's geographical features. "Look at that, millions of civilians, massive urban centers with Republic bases."

"They do not believe we will do what is necessary for victory." It was not a question, but a statement.

"They do not know me." Mandalore threw back his head and laughed, his helmet synthesizing his voice, giving it a machine like quality. Sometimes he certainly felt like a machine. "Tell me Cassius, what was the yield on those warheads?" He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it again.

"Mid megaton ranges."

"I like the sound of that; explosions are fun to watch." He rubbed his palms together. "Tactical!"

"Sir!"

"Fire all warheads. All of them!" He would purify the Republic and cleanse them of their misconceptions and their ignorance. Through the fire of fusion, atoms smashing together to release titanic levels of energy, he would save them.

* * *

"What are they doing?" Saul muttered to himself, although he was sure Onasi heard. The surprise Mandalorian fleet had not attacked, giving Saul time to organize his battle group into a defensive cluster. At first glance it seemed as if he had gotten lucky, but Saul Karath didn't believe in luck. The Mandalorians were up to something.

But what?

"Maybe they want us to attack them?" Onasi said. Saul turned to him and shook his head.

"Hardly, they would have to believe we are complete fools. Although who's to say we aren't." He murmured that last bit, but of course Onasi heard him again, raising his brows.

What to do?

That was just it; Saul wasn't sure what to do. This Mandalore, this mysterious masked figure had been anything but predicable. Mandalore had brilliantly engineered the False War. It _had_ felt like a real war, _had_ looked like a real war. It had never been a real war. Mandalore had been testing the Republic, learning about his foe. Saul Karath could admire a strategic genius, even if he was on the other side. It was why Saul was wary. What was the bastard Mandalorian up to now?

He started to pace around the bridge, glancing at consoles that he didn't need to see, looking over the shoulders of his bridge crew.

Damn it! What was Mandalore doing?

"Admiral, they are firing warheads! Targeting systems show them as heading directly towards us!"

He had his answer.

Saul smiled, his lips quickly curling into a sneer. Mandalore was attempting to use the superior range of his warheads to avoid the overwhelming numbers of the Republic fleet.

"Tactical, bring the countermeasures online; I want those deflectors up!" Saul ordered. The warheads would damage the deflectors, but not enough for serious concern. Mandalore would be forced to enter into the ranges of the Republic's superior firepower and numbers.

"Deflectors up... sir?" The Tactics officer sounded surprised. "Sir!" Now he sounded horrified.

"What is it?" Saul snapped. The Tactics officer turned to face him, his face pale.

"The warheads, they are bypassing us! They... they are heading straight for the planet."

"For the planet but...why?" Saul trailed off. He already knew the answer. He knew all too well.

_Millions..._

_

* * *

_

"There is an old story on one of the backwater worlds at the edges of the galaxy." Mandalore was saying as the warheads bypassed the Republic ships. "About these two nations at war with each other. This was before even primitive chemical based slug-throwers, back when people fought with sword, spear and axe. According to the story, the leader of the smaller nation, swept down into the lowlands with his army and rounded up all of his people that had offered to surrender to the armies of the larger nation. Then, he imprisoned them and waited for the armies of the greater nation to arrive. When they did he had all of those people staked on the fields, left to die slow deaths in agony. When the armies of the mightier nation saw the deathly deed, they were so horrified that they ran away." Mandalore turned to Cassius. "Do you know why?"

"Because the leader of the smaller nation brought the fight to a level that the mighty could not follow. He showed he was willing to do anything to win, to be victorious."

"Yes, he did and today, so shall I."

* * *

Saul Karath watched in horror as the first warhead exploded in a massive conflagration of energy, vaporizing a chunk of Serroco's surface. In an instant, millions died in the fires of fusion.

"Sir! Initial scans detected zinc and cobalt dust inside the warhead," Tactical said feverishly.

"Particle scattering?" Saul couldn't believe it. Not only was the warhead loaded with a multi-megaton bomb, but the Mandalorians had packed it full of metallic dust. Every explosion would kill everything and render the surrounding area lifeless.

Another warhead exploded, this time at the largest population center on the planet.

_Millions..._

"How many warheads are there?" Onasi was asking Tactical.

"Thirty accounted for, two... no three have impacted!"

_Millions..._

"Admiral, we have to do something!" Onasi was suddenly in his face. "Launch the fighters, intercept the remaining warheads, or at least prevent another volley!"

"Yes... yes!" Saul turned to tactical. "Order all of the fighter wings, all of them, all of them! Intercept as many of the warheads as you can. Scatter the battle group, and prepare to advance into weapons range. I'm going to bring our superior firepower to–"

"-Admiral... fleet operations are breaking apart!" Tactical sounded terrifed, worse than before.

"What?"

"The fleet is in disarray, several groups have broken from the cluster, and they are heading straight towards the Mandalorian line!"

"Order them back!" Saul shouted. "I will not have my own men disobey orders! Order them back!"

* * *

"Mandalore, the Republic fleet is in disarray; several of their battle groups have broken cluster and are moving towards us at max sublight." Tactical was calm, confident. There was nothing like the sheer terror of your enemy, the deaths of millions, to remind a man none could stand in his way.

"I am a god and I will this," Mandalore whispered. "Tactical, order our groups to fall back when attacked by the Republic forces, I want to draw as many groups out of the cluster as possible. If this Admiral cannot keep his command intact, then he does not deserve victory." A holodisplay of the Republic fleet movement's appeared in front of Mandalore's spot on the bridge. A glowing display of blue lines and red ship markers, it lit up the dim bridge, casting long shadows on the crew. "Is this not glorious, Cassius? They flounder, they scatter, like children!" He threw his head back again and laughed, laughed as hard as he ever had. He loved to laugh; laughter was good for the soul.

"Would you say their tactics are dishonorable?" Cassius asked suddenly. Mandalore stopped laughing and glanced over at his brother, his most valued officer.

"Of course it is dishonorable! Civilians next to warriors, as if we would spare them!" It was for the benefit of the bridge crew, because Mandalore had discovered long ago, that he did not care about honor. Honor was a worthless prize, something good only to impress others. Victory, now that was what mattered!

"Dishonorable indeed." Mandalore would have bet half his fleet that Cassius was smiling beneath his helmet.

"Mandalore! The Republic forces have engaged our left group; they are falling back, as you commanded." Tactical reported.

"Good, very good!" Mandalore walked to front of the bridge, his boots making a _thunk thunk_ sound on the durasteel floor. It was hard to get visuals in space, but from where Mandalore stood, he could see the sudden flashes from his left wing as they engaged the enraged Republic vessels. This battle would not be a perfect analogy to old story, but the moral of the story still applied. A shocked force made stupid decisions.

"Another group has broken off! The Republic cluster is beginning to break apart completely. They are failing to prioritize targets."

"And so, they fracture. They do not fight as one, but as so many shocked, scared and angry soldiers." Mandalore whispered, too low for even Cassius to hear. Louder, he spoke to Tactical. "How many warheads got through to the surface?"

"Twenty five of them! Causalities expected to be several hundred million based on demographics."

"Several hundred million! Did you hear that Cassius? I am the architect, the engineer, of millions deaths in a matter minutes. My name will echo in history from this! Tactical, order out all the basilisk wings, have all ships move in to attack. Kill them all!"

* * *

Canderous adjusted the seat on his basilisk and quickly went over a systems check. You could never be too careful when riding on the back of a wardroid in the vacuum. A fool could get killed for his carelessness that way.

"All squadron leaders, report!" He ordered into his comm unit.

"Dragon Leader reporting!"

"Mynock Leader reporting!"

"Krayt Leader reporting!"

Canderous personally commanded four wings of twenty five basilisk wardroids. A hundred true warriors all.

"Mandalore has ordered us to engage the Republic fighter wings and keep them for harassing the dreadnoughts. They have hundreds of Aurek Tactical Strikefighters and outnumber us by several magnitudes."

"Maybe it will be a fair fight then, sir!" Dragon leader joked. The other squadrons laughed at the absurd comment. Canderous ignored them; he had no time for humor or games.

"Remember, Aurek fighters are heavier then our wardroids; they have bigger guns and proton torpedoes. Move fast and use your superior maneuverability to avoid them. Attack in loose packs and then break apart. Because they have greater firepower and numbers, we have to force them to scatter into small groups of one or two fighters, where our basilisks will have the advantage due to their greater speed and mobility. Understood?"

"Yes Commander!" The squad leaders shouted in unison.

"Then launch!" Canderous ordered. The shuttle-bay crew scattered from the hanger as the forcefield disengaged, sucking out precious oxygen into the icy vacuum. Pulled in by the air rushing outward, Canderous and his hundred riders flew out with it, engines igniting the sudden and abrupt silence of space.

Thousands of capital ships were engaged in fierce combat, filling space with massive turbolaser explosions. Deflectors lit up like miniature suns, dissipating weapons fire. In the background of it all, the formerly blue and green Serroco smoldered red and black, having been baptized by nuclear fire.

It was glorious.

"Move to maximum combat speed!" The wardoid's dampening fields quickly moved to compensate as they advanced at thousands of Gs, flashing through space as little more than signals on a tactical screen.

"Commander! Orders?"

"Dragon Leader, take up the right! Krayt Leader, take up the left! Mynock, you're with me." There was a chorus of acknowledgement as the formation moved to comply with Canderous' commands. A sudden flash of light appeared on his tactical display. Then, a few hundred flashes of light. "Republic fighters dead ahead, prepare to engage!"

Canderous couldn't hear it, but he could see it. Suddenly space became crowded with the sizzling and flashing lights of thousands of orange and green turbolaser bolts. Hundreds of Aurek fighters silently screamed into vew, flashing by Canderous. One appeared on his scopes. "Target acquired!" His thumbs slammed down on the triggers, spurting a rapid sequence of turbolaster blasts. Several missed, but the rest impacted onto the larger fighter's armor. For several moments, space was filled with light enough for a small star before vanishing back into darkness. Bubble deflectors shuddered under the sudden impacts of debris as Canderous flashed through the remains of the aurek fighter.

"Contact down!" Canderous shouted as he swept his basilisk into a sudden drop, falling just above another aurek fighter. Applying the boosters, he quickly accelerated and latched out with the droid's claws, landing onto the fighter's back. Inside the canopy he could see the Republic pilot looking up in shock as Canderous lashed out at him. The transparesteel glass, strong as it was, could not withstand the vicious impact of the basilisk's claws as it ripped into the canopy, destroying the fragile atmosphere inside.

Explosive decompression was a bad way to die.

"Dragon Squadron reporting! We have another incoming wing of Republic fighters, orders sir?"

"Move to engage, Mynock Squadron will support you; the rest of us, will finish the first wave and then move to join you."

"Yes Commander!" Dragon Leader reported. Canderous watched on his tactical screen has half of his warriors veered off to intercept the incoming wave. It was a good ploy on the Republic's part, splitting his forces in two like that. He would have to defeat the first wave quickly to avoid a divide and conquer stratagem becoming reality.

He smiled, either way it would be one of the best times of his life.

* * *

Thousands of flashing lights blinked on the holoprojector as Saul frantically looked for a way to extract what was left of his fleet out of this mess. The Mandalorians fought like disciplined savages; they fought like the monsters they were. His fleet, shaken, confused and frighten had fallen into disarray. A thousand ships had already been lost. A thousand! Their hulls drifted in the vacuum of space, a collection of ruined husks of what used to be the workplaces of thousands of fine officers and soldiers.

Mandalore's plan was clear to Saul now, ingenious as it was. Mandalore understood the Republic; he understood that the Republic was fractured and divided. Even in its military, it was scattered and incoherent. An enemy that did not fight as one could not win and Mandalore had taken advantage of this weakness. This attack, the sudden shock of millions dead, had been too much for Saul's inexperienced fleet. They had reacted, violently and in anger. Mandalore had played them like a master, luring them by ordering his wings to fall back, drawing them away from a solid force concentration.

"Then he destroyed them," Saul whispered.

"Admiral, another group has fallen and most of our fighters are gone. I'm getting reports of hundreds of ships retreating. The cluster is gone!" Tactical was hysterical by now. Saul couldn't blame him; he couldn't blame anyone but himself.

He slammed his fist down on the command console in front of him. This wouldn't have happened if his fleet had maintained discipline! That was just it; his fleet had been cobbled together from three different sector fleets and a few planetary militias. He didn't have the charisma to turn such a varied force into a single battle group. He knew the strategy, he knew the tactics, but he didn't have the voice and the presence to implement them.

He was a craftsman missing his tools.

"Admiral... what are we going to do?" Onasi, thank the Force, was still composed. The man was a good soldier, a good officer.

"Retreat... that is what we will do." Saul wanted to scream in frustration at the idea, but consequences were consequences. "This world is lost, a fiery graveyard for millions of smoldering spirits." He turned to Tactical. "Send out a fleet wide retreat, I repeat, send out a fleet wide retreat."

"What will you tell Command?"

"That I failed. What else would I tell them?" Saul replied, watching as his fleet died a silent death in the vacuum of space, on the backdrop of a burning world.

_Millions..._


	5. What Must Be Done

**Chapter Five:** What Must be Done

* * *

"This is a stupid idea," Alek was saying as Kaviss paced up the marble steps. Just ahead of him the big glassy doors of the Coru-NewsCorp's main headquarters rose up several meters high. Tiny, when compared to the glittering building they opened up to. "The council is going to have a fit if you do this." Alek was hastily following behind, his long legs easily making up for Kaviss' rapid stride. "Why do you think Keida doesn't fear retribution? Because you are a Jedi and Jedi don't act like children."

"I'm in a childlike mood, deal with it." Kaviss replied, reaching the doors. They slid open for him, letting the king through. Kaviss was certainly emitting enough righteous anger at that moment to feel like a king in Alek's senses.

"Deal with it?" Alek swept in front of him, robes billowing, his massive frame filling up Kaviss' view.

"Is that your best answer? Surely, you can do better than that!"

"You heard it, I said it." Kaviss sidestepped him and walked up to the secretary staring at the two Jedi with an apprehensive expression. "Ma'am, what is the name of your boss?"

"Kaviss this is stupid!" Alek was practically shouting into Kaviss' ears.

"Zarik Charr is the head of Coru-NewsCorp. Um, if you like I can set up an appointment for you to speak with–"

"–I want to speak with him, now," Kaviss said, leaning across the counter. "Trust me; he'll want to speak to me."

"I am sorry, but I cannot just allow you to enter without an appointment." The receptionist was beginning to look flustered.

"Oh leave the poor woman alone, Kaviss." Alek protested.

"Ma'am, do you know who I am?" Kaviss asked. She nodded silently, of course she did. Everyone knew him now. "That's good, because then you will realize how much your boss would love, a live, one on one exclusive interview with me."

"Really? Kaviss you can't be serious."

"Oh I am serious." Kaviss whirled on his friend. "This is politics Alek and politics is composed of stupidity. Since I've been drawn into the game, I'm going to fight back and I'm going to win."

"Win at what? What is it you are trying to do?"

"Gain the political backing I need, what else?" Kaviss turned back to the receptionist. "Don't you have something to do?" She blinked and then shook her head, looking down to the com link on her desk.

"Political backing?" Alek threw up his arms. "You call this gaining political backing? You're ridiculous."

"Trust me Alek, I know exactly what I am doing," Kaviss replied. "Keida refused to even speak to me; she left not a day ago and fled back to Antara, no doubt to avoid me. This mess made us miss our trip to Cathar and now my public image is suffering blow after blow."

"Your public image?" Alek was shocked. "This is why you're acting like a spoiled child? To protect your public image?"

"Nope." Kaviss replied with a grin. "It is called blackmail." He turned back to the receptionist. "Well?" She stopped talking into her small comm unit and looked up at the Jedi.

"CEO Charr will be more than happy to see you." She sounded surprised. Alek couldn't blame her; he had the feeling getting an appointment with a CEO was one of those things that took months.

"Excellent!" Kaviss replied. "Ma'am, you have been most helpful." He looked around. "Do you think you could direct us to the elevator?"

"Oh, of course, it's just that way, down the hall." She pointed a finger down one of the halls on the left where rows of elevators lined the walls.

"Thank you ma'am." Kaviss said with a brilliant smile. Wonder of wonders, the receptionist actually blushed! "Come on Alek; let's have a chat with Mr. Charr of Coru-NewsCorp."

* * *

"An interview?" The fat man was practically jumping out of his chair. Alek had forgotten his name, but 'fat man' seemed to describe him well enough. He was apparently, the CEO of Coru-NewsCorp. Alek found him to be as repulsive as he had ever seen someone, and he had seen a lot of repulsive people.

The fat man's office was a grandiose thing of ugly replicas of ugly artwork. They littered the shelves next the room's only window, overlooking the equally ugly Coruscant skyline. Alek hated Coruscant, a big artificial dead rock orbiting a star too cold to support life without the use of giant solar reflectors to create an artificial habitual zone. Alek had always wondered how life had evolved in this world at all, given how cold it was. To think humans came from Coruscant was absurd.

At least fat man had offered refreshments. Alek had quickly found himself sipping from an icy glass of water. People always wondered why he loved water so much, but then they hadn't been born on a desert world.

"Yes, an exclusive interview, with the Revanchist; every dark and dirty secret between Senator Eris and me." Kaviss held out his arms wide. "Exposed to the entirety of the holonet." His voice was grand, a king assuring his subject of his glory.

"Every... dark and dirty secret?" The fat little man was quivering now, his eyes wide. Kaviss leaned across the desk to where his nose was all but touching the fat man's. Kaviss always liked to loom in front of people when he was trying to persuade them of something.

"Everything, even the size of her garter belt, if you want it." Alek made a strangled noise in his throat, nearly choking on his glass.

"This is a life's dream," the fat man was saying. "The biggest scandal ever! A Jedi and a Senator in a dark and secret relationship. Lots of steamy details, I want them all!" This was ridiculous.

"Excuse me? Kaviss, I need to talk to you outside." Alek grabbed hold of one of Kaviss' arms and unceremoniously dragged him away from the desk, ignoring his friend's protests. "He'll be right back." Alek told the fat man as they stepped outside.

"What are you doing?" Kaviss demanded.

"Me?" Alek demanded in return. "What are you doing?"

"Lying like a madman. What does it look like? I'm setting this fat fool up; trust me Alek, I have a plan."

"You have a plan? Really, and I'm expected to believe this?" Kaviss held out his arms wide, no longer a gracious king but instead a wounded brother.

"You doubt me Alek?" He said, accusing. "You doubt your best friend, your childhood brother!" His voice rose in perfect pitch with each word and even though Alek knew it was nonsense; he still felt a sudden spurt of guilt. Kaviss had that ability, that charisma to talk complete nonsense and somehow still make people believe. "Trust me Alek, I have a plan. Now, come on, we've wasted enough time. I want to get this nonsense over with." He left Alek standing there with his mouth open, retort dead on his lips.

"Oh screw it." Alek muttered as he followed Kaviss back into the office. The fat man was still sitting behind his desk, looking excited and apprehensive at the same time.

"Tell me Mr. Charr, how soon can we begin?" Kaviss asked. The fat man lit up, apprehension vanishing.

"Why, we can record you today if you like. I'll just get the techs together and by this evening's newscast, the interview will be playing across the entire holonet!" He rubbed his pudgy hands together; he did that a lot.

"That's excellent Mr. Charr, most excellent," Kaviss said. Alek could feel his excitement. Madness, all of this.

"I'll just call the techs." The fat man pressed a button his desk and suddenly a small holographic figure appeared from a small projector next to his console.

"Boss?" The miniature figure asked.

"I'm having an interview recorded for tonight's broadcast and I need you techs to get everything ready."

"That's kinda short notice; we may not be able to..."

"...did I ask for your opinion?" The fat man shouted. "I want it to work, so you make it work."

"Yes boss!" The miniature figure replied smartly before he fizzled out. Alek was beginning to seriously dislike this fat man and his company. _What is Kaviss up to?_ Kaviss was far too enamored with his cleverness for his own good. The man might have been a genius and a prodigy, but those titles could make a man act stupid.

"What do we do now?" Kaviss asked.

"Simple, we head down to the studio. I'll show you around the place; I'm sure you will love it." The fat man scampered out of his chair and motioned for the two Jedi to follow him.

As they followed the fat man, Alek leaned in and whispered to Kaviss. "What do you think he is going to ask you?"

"Questions about my relationship with Keida of course." Kaviss replied in whisper.

"Do you know what you are going to say?"

"Nope, I figure I'll make it all up on the spot."

* * *

Alek wished he had a switch in his brain so that he could turn off his ears. He had been listening for the last hour, listening to the most ridiculous nonsense he had ever heard. Kaviss could lie with the best of them and yet still make his story sound outrageous and true. He seemed to know exactly what the fat man was going to ask, before he asked it, which told Alek that Kaviss was liberally poking into the CEO's head. As far as Alek was concerned, Kaviss deserved whatever ugliness he found inside.

The way Kaviss' story went, he and Keida had been secret lovers or at least very intimate friends, Kaviss had never clarified that. They were close and secret political allies. Keida, it seemed, actually supported Kaviss' position, but fear of her constituents, kept her from acting on what her moral compass told her. In despair she had approached Kaviss, and the two had "apparently" immediately connected. He did indeed know the size of her garter belt, but naturally he wasn't going to say what that was. "Let the worthy among my audience learn that for themselves!" He had said, turning to face the holocameras, basking their glow. Alek couldn't believe it, couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could anyone possibly believe this nonsense?

And that was just it, sprinkled among the lies were grains of truth about Kaviss' real relationship the senator. The lie itself was grandiose, but there were still just a few grains of truth, mixed in with half lies and garbage to make it all sound credible.

Kaviss was the best liar that Alek had ever known. His expression, his pitch, his tone, the movement of the muscles on his face, Kaviss had it all down pat.

How did a Jedi become such a skilled liar? How did his _best friend_ become such a skilled liar? Alek had always known Kaviss was clever, smart, and sometimes, manipulative. Kaviss had never been malicious about it, he was simply gifted.

But this? This was malicious. It was a smear campaign if Alek had ever seen one. While Senator Eris could escape relatively unscathed from being spotted eating with Kaviss, this would put her on the defensive. It was all lies, or most of it at least, but Alek knew enough about politics to know that truth did not matter. It was image and the ability to spin the most absurd lies into truth.

The billions on the holonet would watch this interview and believe Kaviss, because they wanted to, because he would make them want to. _The Council is going to have a collective fit over this._

Kaviss, apparently did not care about his own career, or his life as a Jedi.

"I think that is enough for now," The fat man, said, getting up from his chair from where he sat across from Kaviss. "This is some of the best material I have ever had the pleasure of recording!" Alek wanted to smack the gleeful smile of the coreslime's face. Hell, he wanted to smack the smile of Kaviss' face.

"Oh I think I know how you feel. I am very excited about the reaction this interview will create," Kaviss said, also standing from his chair.

"I am curious, but aren't you worried about your reputation and standing with the Council? I mean you are a Jedi and so I imagine this isn't going to look very good for you." It was the most intelligent thing the fat man had said all day.

"Ah, Zarik, I wouldn't worry about such things if I were you. In fact, you won't need to worry about any of this." Kaviss' voiced reminded Alek of some of the fine oils that his people had used to clean themselves in lieu of water due to its scarcity.

"I don't?" The fat man sounded confused.

"Nope, because _you are not going to broadcast this interview unless I give you express permission to_." Alek's eyes shot open wide as he felt the Force bend to Kaviss' will.

"Of course, I won't broadcast this without your permission," the fat man continued happily, not so much as a break in the train of his thought.

"In fact _you will destroy all copies and give the original to me. You will also tell your employees to forget they ever recorded this interview_."

"And of course I'll be sure to order all copies of the recording deleted and give you the original. I will also tell my employees to forget they ever recorded this interview." The fat man was grinning, grinning! He couldn't even realize that Kaviss acting the ultimate puppet master, playing with his very thoughts.

Alek couldn't work up the indignation to feel bad for the CEO of Coru-NewsCorp. He watched in silence as the fat man began giving orders to his employees, telling them to delete all copies and to give the original to their esteemed Jedi guest. In harsher tones, he explained to all of them how they should forget this event ever took place.

It took all of Alek's discipline not to laugh.

Eventually, they were ushered out of the studio and out of the building. Alek had to wonder what had just happened and what Kaviss was up to. He kept silent as they took a sky cab back to the Jedi temple and continued to remain silent until they reached Kaviss' rooms. Alek simply wasn't sure what to say, or what to ask. What was going on here?

"You look like your about to explode." Kaviss said as he shut the door to his room, locking it even. He was holding the small digital file of the holorecoriding on his personal data stick. "Why did he do that? What is his plan? What is going on here?" He barked a laugh. "Well, go ahead and ask."

"You tell me Kaviss, what are you up to?" Alek fell into a chair and folded his arms, looking expectantly at his friend, his brother.

"It's very simple Alek, if you think about it." Kaviss was pacing; he seemed to be brimming with energy. "Did you really think I would actually air such an interview? Or allow it to be aired? No, no; I am not that kind of man Alek. This!" He held up the data stick. "Is nothing more than a bluff, blackmail to get Keida to support the GDP. We will leave for Antara tonight and be there first thing in the morning."

"And you really think she would do that? Over your interview?" Alek wasn't convinced.

"Of course she will. If this was aired her political career would come under assault from her enemies on Antara. You think she doesn't have competitors for the position of Senator? She's a politician Alek, a politician! And people like her have to tread carefully at every step. I however, am a Jedi. I'm a strange mystic with powers beyond people's understanding. I can get away with doing something bizarre, because no one really understands us."

"The Council–"

"–Oh please Alek, you think I care what the Council would do?" Kaviss sneered, an ugly expression on his face. Kaviss had a face that could handle every expression, and that's why he looked so malicious when he sneered, because he did it so well. "They are frightened, confused, and unsure of what to do. As far as they are concerned, I am a rebel, and even if I turned into the perfect Jedi, I would still be a rebel in their eyes."

"What are you trying to do Kaviss; why do you care about this war so much?" Alek truly wanted to know. Kaviss had never been clear on why he was so desperate to get the Jedi involved, to help the war effort.

"You should already know the answer to that question. Wasn't your homeworld raided by the Mandalorians?" The question stung, but Alek knew its purpose.

"I have little attachment to my homeworld. I'm a Jedi and–"

"–Spare me the dogma, Alek," Kaviss interrupted, dismissively. "We know each other too well to lie like that."

"Fine then, what do you want me to say?" Alek stood up; he was angry, he could feel it. Ruthlessly he crushed his anger down, ignoring it. "Yes, I was upset, yes I wanted to do something and yes, I think the Jedi should help the Republic! But you Kaviss?" Alek shook his head. "It's like an obsession for you, something that you _need_ to do."

Kaviss didn't say anything at first; he simply stared at the window at Coruscant's darkening skyline.

"My homeworld was broken by Mandalorians, Alek. You know this. I have seen first hand, what they can do, what they are capable of." He whipped around so fast that Alek shifted his feet, eyes afire with passion. "I love the Republic, because for all of its flaws and corruption, I see the only beacon of light in this dark and dim galaxy. The Republic is corrupt, it is old, but it doesn't have to be that way! It can be something better, but that will never happen if the Mandalorians come in and destroy it all in their misguided quest for glory. I will not stand aside and let that happen and I most certainly will not let the fear of an bunch of old and broken Jedi ruin the Republic."

"Those are dangerous words, friend," Alek whispered.

"It's a dangerous galaxy, friend."

* * *

Antara was a beautiful world, stunning to look at. Alek found it to be a grand sight better than Coruscant and he had the suspicious feeling that the residents of this blue and green jewel knew it. He had been offered at least half a dozen holo images made for tourists. Well for _human_ tourists at any rate. The only aliens he had seen where silent creatures that went around serving the Antaran elite. It made Alek sick when he thought about it.

_It doesn't have to be..._

Sometimes, Kaviss' words seemed just a little too hopeful.

"A beautiful world, wouldn't you say, Kaviss?" Alek asked as the two of them sat down in one of the spaceport cabs.

"Physical beauty? Sure, if that was all that mattered." Kaviss handed the driver a small credit chip. "I can feel it, I can feel their pain."

"The aliens?"

"Yes." It was barely above a whisper. Sometimes Alek forgot how sensitive Kaviss was to the feelings of others. Prodigious strength in the Force had its disadvantages. "They are in pain, Alek; the slow, crushing pain of despair. Every day, they get up and stare at a paradise just out of reach, dangled from their masters' hands. This is not a beautiful world; this is an ugly world, rotting at the core with the suffering of millions."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, some things simply must be changed," Kaviss replied as the speeder took off, quickly leaving the spaceport behind.

With Kaviss in a dismal mood, there was little conversation. Alek took the time to examine the terrain.

While Antara was heavily populated, careful care had been given to the planet's ecosystem, and as such, even the most urbanized of cities were overflowing with green plants and eco friendly development plans. On the surface at least, Anatra was truly a paradise. Alek tried to sense the despair that Kaviss could feel so intensely, but all he could notice was a slight undercurrent of weariness, not pain or sickness.

"We are almost there," Kaviss said suddenly. "Keida lives in the Aretaic District of Antara City."

"Aretaic?"

"A term used in ethics. The Antarans pride themselves on being a world of academics, so a great number of their city districts are named after philosophical concepts."

"I don't suppose liberty is a philosophical concept," Alek muttered.

"Only if it applies to humans apparently." Kaviss' voice was clipped.

They said nothing after that, silently getting off the cab as the droid driver announced they were at their destination.

"Do you know where her house is?" Alek asked, glancing at the spacious mansions that populated this district of Antara City. At first glance it looked like they were all carved from marble or precious stones, but Alek would have bet anything it was fake and that under all the glitter it was simple ferracrete.

"Its not far, a few minutes walk." Kaviss set a quick pace, eager it seemed, to get this done with.

"You know what I like about this world? Everything is on the ground. If we slip off the sidewalk, nothing will happen. We'll get some grass on our boots, but we won't plummet to our deaths."

"Antarans are rather proud that they didn't go the way of the Core Worlds." Kaviss replied. "They are a proud people in general."

"Most wealthy and important worlds are."

"Is that just a little bit of envy coming from the backwater world inhabitant?" Kaviss actually cracked a smile.

"Ha! Never." Alek replied and the two of them started chuckling.

They were still laughing as they reached Senator Keida Eris' massive and exquisite mansion, protected as it was, by a shimmering security field.

"I guess we should knock," Kaviss said, stepping up to a small comm unit on the gate leading inside.

"Hello?" He said, depressing the activation switch. "I am Jedi Knight Kaviss and I am here to speak with Senator Keida."

There was nothing at first, a few seconds of silence, before a droid's voice replied.

"Senator Keida has specifically ordered that anyone going by the name of Kaviss be rejected entry."

"Is that so?" Kaviss had a dangerous look in his eyes. He tuned back to the comm unit. "Thank you for your assistance." He said, before hitting the button again, turning the unit off.

"What are we going to do now?" Alek asked. The sudden snap hiss of Kaviss' lightsaber was his answer. "You can't be serious!"

"No one will get hurt, I'm just going to cut through the field emitter and disable it. I don't have time to play games with this schutta and her damn droids." He walked over to one of the field emitters, a long metallic pole reaching up out of the ground, and unceremoniously rammed his blue lightsaber into the housing matrix.

There was a shower of sparks followed by a blaring alarm as the field's security alert went off.

"That's going to bring security!" Alek yelped.

"Of course it is. Which is why we have to move quickly and convince the good senator to let everyone know this was a simple misunderstanding."

* * *

Keida lounged on one of the antique sofas she had in her common room, curling her toes to work out the stiffness from the recent walk she had taken through her gardens. In the background, a holoprojector droned on with the dreary voice of one of Antara's newcasters. As a matter of principle Keida never turned the news off. The news was a politician's lifeline.

She dressed in a simple gown of white nanosilk, blessedly comfortable, but not even remotely modest. Not that she had to worry about modesty in the privacy of her own home.

A face appeared in her mind's eye, with green eyes and messy dark red hair. It was an ideal face for a lazy smile.

Kaviss' face.

An intriguing man to say the least, although that tended to be true of all Jedi. Sometimes Keida felt as if they existed in a different world from everyone else and were surprised people didn't see things the way they did. It was ironic, since they themselves had no unified opinions. Kaviss was thought of as a rogue by his own kind; why should he expect her to agree with him?

_Except you do, don't you?_ Her own thoughts, betraying her as always.

"I am not blind." She whispered to herself. "I understand the Mandalorian threat." What a politician knew needed to be done and what was actually done were two very different things, most of the time. "I have obligations to fulfill, constituents to–"

The security alarm went off.

"What?" Keida jerked up from the sofa and rushed over to one of the remote consoles spread about the mansion. They were all connected to the dwelling's central computer system, a necessary security feature for a Senator. "Computer, show me the point of entry." A wallscreen flashed on, showing her a section of the security field that had been disabled. "Where are the intruders?"

"I'm sorry senator, but there are no lifeforms detected. It appears to be a malfunction with the security field." The computer's digitalized voice reported.

"You mean to tell me a random 'malfunction' brought down an entire section of the security grid? Ridiculous, send out the guard droids."

"That won't be necessary." A voice said from behind her. Keida whirled around to see, in her shock, Kaviss standing beside some other Jedi she didn't recognize. Reacting on instinct, she reached down at a small stand by the wallscreen yanked out a small hold out blaster from a hidden holographic shelf. As if it had a mind of its own, it flew from her hands and sailed through the air, landing on Kaviss' outstretched hand. "Really Keida, violence? Is that necessary?" He sounded hurt, but Keida had been politics long enough to hear falsehoods for what they were.

"Why don't you explain to me what you think you are doing, breaking into my home? And how did you get past my guard droids?" She was backed up against the wall, her back brushing against the buttons on the wall panel as they pressed up against her gown.

"Keida." He said her name smoothly, gently. "Keida... calm down." She could feel it in his voice, a pressuring command to relax, to let down her guard. The Jedi was trying to use his mind trick on her.

"We are not going to hurt you." She felt an overpowering desire to trust him.

"No! Stay out of my head." She would have backed further away, if the wall wasn't stopping her. Kaviss sighed and rolled his eyes, the gall of him! Suddenly, he tossed the hold out blaster to her.

"Would you feel better if you had a gun pointed at me while we talk?" Hesitantly, she reached down and picked up the weapon. To her shame, her hands were shaking as she pointed it at his chest. He didn't so much as flinch.

"You don't seem very frightened of it," she said weakly.

"To be honest, you couldn't hurt me with that thing even if I stood here and let you shoot me."

"Jedi are invincible then?"

"Close enough." He grimaced, the first true expression on his face so far. "Keida, please, I'm not going to hurt you. I am sorry for breaking into your house, it was wrong and rude I know, but I had to. Whatever else we may be, we are Jedi. Jedi don't hurt innocent people Keida and if they do, then they aren't Jedi." He reached out hand, a gesture of peace.

Slowly, very slowly, Keida set down the hold out blaster. She believed Kaviss, if only because he was a Jedi and she thought she knew him.

"Computer, turn off the alarm and let the security forces know it was a false alarm, code ruby."

"Acknowledged." The computer voiced and suddenly the alarm went quiet. Keida sighed as silence filled the room.

"I need to sit down," she muttered, falling onto the sofa. "What was so important, that you had to break into my home and scare me half to death?" She curled her arms around her chest, drawing her legs up, doing her best to appear as modest as possible given what she was wearing.

"Alek, do you think you wouldn't mind?" Kaviss made a vague notion towards the other room. The bigger Jedi nodded silently, and then stepped out, leaving just the two of them. Kaviss watched him leave and then walked around in front of the sofa, pulling up a chair just in front of it.

"Well?" She asked again.

"You're going to hate me for this, which is a shame since you're beautiful." She raised her eyes at his comment."But, I have to do this." He reached into his robes and pulled out a small data stick. "You know what this is?"

"A data stick." Keida replied shortly.

"Yes, a data stick. This one contains something very important; it contains an interview between the CEO of Coru-NewsCorp and me." Keida's breath caught in her throat. "It is a discussion about the intimate relationship I had with you and how we were secretly political allies... among other lies and half-truths." He must have noticed her growing horror because he started talking faster. "Oh, don't worry, it hasn't aired and it never will, as long as you do one thing for me."

"Blackmail?" Keida whispered in shock. "You would do this to me?" She couldn't believe it. "No, you're lying; a Jedi would never risk such a public scandal that way."

"Keida... what was it I told you during dinner?" He leaned forward, his face in hers, green eyes boring into her skull. "I told you that this isn't about me, this is about my message and what must be done to save the Republic. My life, my career... meaningless." For a moment, no more than a moment, he looked like he was in agony, but then it vanished, quick as it had arrived. "Look at me in the eyes Keida, look at me and tell me that I wouldn't ruin your career and life."

And she did, she looked into this eyes. They seemed to glow with his passion, and suddenly she realized, that she couldn't speak the words. He would do it; he would do whatever he thought he needed to do if he believed it would save the Republic.

"What is it?" She swallowed. "What is it you want me to do?" She already knew the answer.

"Give your support to–" Suddenly he froze up in mid sentence and fell away from her face, back into the chair.

"What's wrong?" Keida asked, but he didn't answer.

"Alek!" He screamed. The larger Jedi came rushing in.

"You feel it?" He asked. He looked almost as shocked as Kaviss.

"Yes," Kavis gasped. "I feel it! I feel it!" He was clutching his chest as if incredible pain. "Millions of them! They are crying out, oh Force I can hear them all!"

"What's wrong with him?" Keida asked the other Jedi, shocked.

"Something terrible has happened," he said. "Something utterly and completely awful in every sense of the word." He looked at her. "And he can feel all of it."

"He can feel it? I don't understand."

"Somewhere in the galaxy, millions of people are dying; the Mandalorians are killing millions and he can feel their deaths through the Force. He can feel their pain."

"Their pain..." Keida trailed off. She couldn't begin to imagine how that was possible, or what it felt like; however, she could see the effects. Kaviss was curled into a ball, weeping!

Slowly, very slowly, she reached out a hand and rested it on Kaviss' trembling shoulder.

"Kaviss?"

"It's not even quick," he whispered. "They die slowly, on the outskirts of the populated areas, choking on zinc and the smoldering heat." He looked up at her, his face streaked with tears. "Don't you see? This is why I fight so hard, this is why my message is so important! This is what they do, they're killers and monsters all of them!" He gripped her hand between his; he was shaking. "You have to help me, please. I can save the Republic, but I can't do it alone. I'm a Jedi, not a politician."

"I... I will see what I can do," Keida stammered. She had the feeling this was going to be the beginning of a very long few weeks.


	6. Restorers of The Peace

**Chapter Six:** Restorers of the Peace

* * *

The Battle of Serroco could not have come at a better time, morbid as Kaviss found such a thought. The ugly truth of it was that the shock of so many dead, at the humiliating loss suffered by Rear Admiral Karath, had been enough to sway the undecided blocks behind the GDP. Add in Keida throwing in the support of Antara and the deal was clinched. The Independence Party was finished, destroyed overnight. In its place, the GDP and its allies had taken over.

Kaviss liked to entertain the idea that this had been his doing, but he couldn't take credit for another man's work.

Mandalore.

Mandalore had stuck so hard and with so much violence that he had provided something for the fractured Republic to rally against. Slogans like "Avenge Serroco!" Were uttered by people that didn't know anything about the backwater world. Kaviss knew; he had felt it. In his mind's eye, he had witnessed the horror and he would never forget it.

The Republic was uniting, but Kaviss had other concerns. Even as the Republic rallied, Kaviss had another group to rally, his own. There were Jedi loyal to him, and he could not forget that despite what the Council said, the Jedi had a role to play in this war.

"They call us Keepers of The Peace!" Kaviss was saying to the crowd of assembled Jedi, curious about what he had to say. "But I ask you... how do you maintain, that which does not exist? Because quite honestly." A holoscreen flashed behind him, displaying the smoldering hulls of destroyed vessels and the burning worlds that had fallen."That," he stabbed a finger, "does not look like any peace I have ever seen. That my brothers and sisters, is war. If there is no peace to keep, then you may ask, what should we do? To this, I propose a new title."

He paused for a few moments, waiting.

"I propose that consider ourselves Restorers of The Peace, because at this moment, there is no Peace, there is only war. The only way to restore the Peace is to end the war and the only way to end the war is to help the Republic win it!" There was a chorus of applause from the crowd. Mostly younger knights, although Kaviss thought he spotted a few newly raised masters. The more the better, because masters would bring along a padawan, which would mean greater numbers.

_Numbers, not numbers... people. My brothers and sisters, my family._

The small meeting hall began to empty as his fellow Jedi left, leaving Kaviss alone, staring up at the images as they cycled through the collection stored in the holoprojector.

Keida.

For some reason, he had been thinking about her, which was a problem since thinking about her inevitably lead to gut wrenching feelings of guilt.

"I only caught the tail end of it, but from what I could tell, it was a good speech," A woman's voice echoed from behind him, causing Kaviss to turn around.

"Master Sunrider, always a pleasure to see you." Kaviss said as Vima Sunrider stepped into the light.

"You know they call you Revan now? I guess the media felt you needed a snappier moniker." She looked up at the holo images. "You know I was fifteen years old when you were born during the Conclave at Exis Station." Kaviss frowned. What did his age have to do with anything?

"I was born four years before the Conclave," Kaviss corrected her. It was a common mistake people made. The media called him Revan now? He wondered if it would stick. "I suppose you could say I am the eldest of my generation."

"Six years, a mere six years after the defeat of Exar Kun, you were born. I wonder how different things would be if you had been born earlier, perhaps around the time of Ulic and Exar."

"If that had been the case, then I would not be me, I would be someone else. Our experiences—or lack of them—is what makes us who we are." Kaviss could hear an implication in there somewhere. Was she comparing him to Ulic and Exar? If so, it certainly wasn't very flattering.

"Lack of them." Vima said. "Your own words phrase exactly what I wish to say. Those old masters who's authority you so flout, they have experienced darkness such as you will never know. Remember that, as you judge them."

"Master Sunrider, I do not judge them." Kaviss knew he sounded exasperated, but he couldn't help it; he was tried of giving this explanation. "But, I can not stand idly by and do nothing either."

"Nor would I expect you to." She smiled. "You are not the only one of us that desires that something be done."

"If there are those among the Council that agree with me, then have they remained silent?" Kaviss demanded. "Why do I stand alone?"

"Because the Council must be united in its decisions; if it was shown to be fractured, then it would ruin all that we have worked towards. You don't understand what The Great Sith war did to the Jedi."

"You sound like Master Dorak."

"I take that is a compliment. Unlike him, I did not experience The Great Sith war, much like you. I was an infant then, unaware of what was happening."

"Master Sunrider, is there a point to this?"

"Yes, there is." Her face fell, briefly, before returning to a blank mask. "I came to warn you before it happens."

"What happens?" Kaviss asked suspiciously. She sighed.

"Come, walk with me." She gestured towards the doorway leading to the hallway outside. Intrigued, Kaviss followed her out. She said nothing at first; to Kaviss it looked as if she was struggling with something, something she wanted to tell him.

As they walked, Kaviss studied her. Vima Sunrider was a legend in the order, as was her mother. Kaviss had always felt fairly close to her. Compared to the other masters, she was close to him in age, just a little over a decade older than he was. Aside from that, Kaviss had always felt close to Vima in other ways, ways that Jedi did not speak of, not anymore. Vima's very existence was proof that such restrictions had not always been in place. Kaviss could not help it; Vima was beautiful, in both body and spirit. She always seemed to shine with passion, a passion for life.

Had things been different, Kaviss might have been close to masterhood himself by now, almost her equal. It wasn't for lack of talent or ability that he was still a knight. He just didn't have the desire to take a padawan; Kaviss was not a teacher.

"You have been a Jedi Knight for six years, enough time to select an apprentice in their early teens and almost have them ready for knighthood. Why haven't you?" Vima asked suddenly.

"Are my thoughts that clear?"

"It troubles you." It was a statement, not a question. Someone was poking around in his skull.

"Training a padawan is seen as an important step in a Jedi's life. Because I have not picked one, it raises questions, creates doubts about me and my status in the Order."

"Then why not take one? I have no doubt there would be any number of padawans eager to learn under the famous Kaviss."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She chuckled.

"Try me."

"Fear." He said simply. "That kind of responsibility... I don't think I would make a very good teacher Master Sunrider. I am hardly the model Jedi."

"In my mother's time you would have been considered the Jedi ideal, the paragon of what a Jedi should be. You love life; you have a passion for it that gives you strength, the kind of strength the Council fears. They are afraid, because you are power and power of any kind frightens them."

"I think you overrate my importance Master Sunrider."

"The youngest generations of our Order flock to your speeches, eager to answer your call... and you claim that I overrate your importance?" She shook her head in denial. "You are the most important Jedi alive, regardless of your abilities or power. Your weapon is your voice and your ability to convince others to agree with you. Rhetoric is one of the most powerful tools known to sapents."

"I assume this is leading into something." Kaviss replied. Vima pursed her lips and nodded. "I assume that I'm not going to like it."

"No, you won't." She said, barely above a whisper.

"Try me." Kaviss said, copying her earlier line.

"The Council has decided you are a threat to the stability of the Order and so they are going to order you and all your followers be detained."

"What!" Kaviss couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Have I been deceived? Do I live in some other nation where free speech isn't tolerated? Did the law change when I wasn't looking?" He knew he had to sound shocked even skeptical. This was absurd!

"Because you are a Jedi and not technically a Republic citizen, you fall under the legal jurisdiction of the Council, as do all Jedi. The only time the Republic intervenes in what it deems 'internal Jedi affairs' is when our actions directly effect the government. Jedi are not free to act as they please, you know this." To Vima's credit, she sounded disappointed.

"What is the Council's argument for this?" Kaviss demanded. "What justification have they given for such totalitarian measures? Tell me!" He was clenching his fists, fueled by anger, but in this case, he felt he had a right to be angry.

"Deliberately inciting sedition against the orders of the Jedi Council, inciting sedition against the Code and assaults on the public image of the Jedi Order." She listed off the charges mechanically.

"They're including the incident with Keida? They're calling it an assault on the public image of the Jedi Order? What is this nonsense, and how can you go along with it?"

"I didn't, I opposed it, as did Master Kavar and even Master Vrook."

"Master Vrook opposed it?" Kaviss could hardly believe it. He thought that if there was anyone he could truly call an enemy among his fellow Jedi, it would be Vrook.

"You may not like Vrook and I'll admit, he has a gruff manner, but it's only because he cares. He cares about the Order, deeply, but he's afraid to show it. You don't give the man enough credit. He works hard.

"Who was against me?" Vima looked like she didn't want to say anything, but Kaviss stepped in closer.

"At least tell me who orchestrated this, please."

"Masters Draay and Atris led the call for the detainment."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." Kaviss muttered. Atris had always been something of a hardline conservative figure when it came to the reforms being implemented and Draay was a coreslime, so his move wasn't surprising either. It seemed something of an absurdity that Kaviss could accurately describe a member of the Jedi family as a coreslime, but that was simply what Draay was. "When will they give the announcement?" Kaviss asked.

"Tomorrow," Vima replied. "They will not be happy that I told you."

"I... am not sure how to properly thank you, Master-"

"-please, call me Vima. I have never been so formal. You can thank me by proving that my faith in you is warranted." She stopped walking and placed a hand on his cheek, giving him a kind of warm smile, the type you give to a close friend. Physically, there was nothing to identify it as different by any other smile, but Kaviss could tell the difference, which was why he hated it. "You are full of life Kaviss, don't ever lose it." And then she was gone, leaving him alone in the hall.

"No time for regrets, not now." Kaviss whispered as he watched her walk away. He had work to do. With a steady pace, he flew down the halls to the dormitories. He stopped outside of Alek's room, not far from Kaviss' own.

"We have to head to Cathar, immediately." Kaviss said as he walked into Alek's room unannounced.

"We do?" He asked, blinking in surprise as he stood up. "Why?"

"Because the Force has told me that we have to; something is there, something we all need to see." His face turned dark. "Something grim, something terrible."

"Do you have any idea what?" Alek asked. "Other than because it is 'grim and terrible?'"

"Nope."

"Then it is probably the Force and this is probably going to be a defining event in our lives." Alek was grinning, although Kaviss was hardly in the mood. He had been feeling the pull of Cathar for awhile now, but had ignored it, a potentially foolish thing to do. You did not simply ignore it when the Force started to speak to you. _Except, I do that all the time, with my all-consuming trust in my intellect._

"Gather up all the other 'crusaders' as well." Kaviss said. "I want them all to see this." Crusaders, what an absurd term, but the media had used it as a label and it stuck. Kaviss had decided to adapt it for greater publicity. They were a small group but dedicated. Kaviss had a feeling he was going to be asking a lot from them.

"That important?" Alek was struggling into his favored red suit, hastily doing up the straps.

"Yes, it is that important. I've been putting it off, but no longer. I can't afford to, because you and I or any of those that follow us have the time." Alek finished drawing up the straps and the zippers.

"No time? What do you mean?"

"I'll explain to you on the way to Cathar. Let me just say that it would be wise for us to leave Coruscant as soon as possible."


	7. I Am Revan

**Chapter Seven:** I Am Revan

* * *

Something had taken place on Cathar, something dark and terrible. Kaviss could feel it like an icy death in the pit of his soul. The horror that had taken place here had left an echo in the Force. It was the cries of thousands. _I was not wrong. The suffering I felt all those years ago was real._ The council must have felt it as well.

And yet, they had done nothing. All that was needed for evil to prosper was for good to do nothing. Kaviss could see that before his very eyes.

"You still haven't told me why we are here," Alek muttered, picking through rubble of a ruined house with his hands. "No remains; whoever died here didn't die in this village."

"That's because they were herded like animals to another location," Kaviss replied. "And slaughtered en masse."

"You know this, how?"

"Because, they whisper to me. With every step, I feel their pain. With every moment, I hear their cries of terror. Something terrible happened here, just as it happened on Serroco." Kaviss turned to Alek. "Can't you hear them?"

"No, not really."

"I envy you then, my friend. I envy you greatly."

"Is it that terrible?"

"Yes." Kaviss whispered, closing his eyes. Except, that didn't help. If he closed his eyes he could see them. He didn't want to see them.

"We should get back to the others and let them know what we found. They will want to see this. Although, I'm not sure what you think this will do to help us. The Council already knows that the Mandalorians have committed atrocities. What makes you think that they will care about this horror?"

"The Council is irrelevant. What we shall witness here is not for their eyes, but for the eyes of those willing to see." Kaviss looked at Alek. "You realize they will detain us when we get back?"

"Yes, although I don't understan why we simply don't avoid the Council. What good can we do if we are detained?" Alek asked.

"Outage is a powerful tool and after today, I will bring outrage to the ranks of the Jedi Order. Let the Council detain me and expose their fear. It will only work in my favor."

"That will break the Order!"

"Yes, I am going to break the Order. Don't say anything Alek. This must be done. Come, let us rejoin the others." Alek's face remained disturbed as he followed Kaviss, but Kaviss said nothing else. Alek would have to learn how to deal with it.

Up ahead, there was a cluster of Jedi. They were a mix of those that had been willing to follow him, but there also hundreds of those that had yet to be convinced. They had come because Kaviss begged them to.

They turned to him as he approached, looking curiously at the pair. Why are we here? What is he doing? What is he going to show us? Kaviss could hear the questions roll about their skulls.

"My friends, brothers, sisters," Kaviss said, walking in front of them. "You look at this place and you find it empty. There are no bodies... no signs of life. You ask, why is that?" Kaviss closed his eyes. "I have the answers to your questions. Follow me." Eyes still closed, Kaviss let the force guide him as he walked down the pathway, in the direction of a nearby lake. He could feel the Jedi as they followed behind him. They were curious.

As was Kaviss. He had no idea what he was going to find at the lake. All he knew, was that he needed to see what was there.

As they reached the lake, Kaviss opened his eyes to the still waters. Like everything else about this place, it was all deceptively peaceful.

"Uh... Kaviss, what exactly are we supposed to be—," Alek cut off as blaster fire echoed through the air. "Were under attack!"

Hoards of Mandalorian commandos appeared from nowhere, spraying blaster bolts through the air in a shower of red and green light.

The Jedi rushed to meet them, sabers alight. Kaviss stood in the center of it all and did nothing., a sad smile on his face.

Alek's saber flashed through one of the Mandalorians as if the warrior was made of air. Other Jedi began to shout in confusion as their blades met no resistance and the blaster bolts pass through them harmlessly.

"Kaviss what's going on?" Alek rushed up to Kaviss' side. "What is this?"

"A vision of horrors already come to pass," Kaviss replied. He pointed a hand towards a cluster of phantom Cathar as they were herded like animals into the lake. "Look."

Hundreds of Cathar were huddled together, surrounded by Mandalorian commandos. Suddenly a drop ship appeared overhead and a Mandalorian in gold plated armor leaped off the loading ramp and hovered in the air via his jetpack.

"The Cathar are a proud species, strong and independent," the Mandalorian Commander said. "But for all their pride, a turbolaser cannon will still fell them like any other poor sod to stand in the line of fire. You," the Mandalorian jabbed a finger at the crowd, "have stood in our way! As punishment, I, Cassius Fett will make a lesson of your existence." He turned his head to someone inside the dropship. "Kill them all!"

"Wait!" One of the Mandalorian commandos rushed to stand next to the crowd of terrified Cathar. "How does this bring us honor? These people are defenseless."

"You would speak for them?" Fett asked.

"Yes, this is wrong Fett. These people are no threat to us. This is genocide is nothing more than ploy to feed Mandalore's ego! Call off the guns Fett and do not throw away the honor of our name!"

"Honor? Fool warrior! Honor, truth, and justice; these things are nothing more but the preference of the stronger!" Fett turned to the dropship again. "Fire!"

Before the lone Mandalorian could say anything else, the dropship erupted in brilliant flashes of light as it fired on the group of Cathar civilians. In one blazing explosion, the entire group was slaughtered.

All around Kaviss, the Jedi were clutching their chests, doubled over in empathetic pain.

"Kaviss?" Alek was grimacing in pain. "You felt this?"

"Yes... years ago, when it actually happened." Kaviss started walking towards the lake. "I felt everything." He stopped at the small beach and reached down, digging through the sand. "The Council must have felt it as well. Their connection to the Force is certainly greater than mine. How could they not feel this?" He stopped digging and pulled something from the sand. A mask.

"Here, on this very spot, evil was committed!" Kaviss shouted to the Jedi. "The Cathar were massacred like animals," he held up the sand covered mask, "and only one voice was willing to shout in outrage, no! One voice, one brave soul stood her ground and refused to commit evil... and it cost her life. Is it not a sad state of affairs? The innocent are better off looking towards mutinous Mandalorians for protection than the Jedi!" He held up the mask above his head, for all the Jedi to see. "I don't know who this woman was or what she did, but in a single moment, she displayed more courage and honor than the entire Jedi Council. What is this travesty?"

There were shouts from the other Jedi, cries of anger, objections, support, confusion. Kaviss could feel it, as if it were a swirling storm cloud of emotion.

"I say enough, is enough," Kaviss shouted. "It will take more than one voice to stop Mandalore and his horde; it will take more than good will and kind thoughts. It will take action!" Kaviss looked at the mask and held it in front of his face. "I don't know who you are, and I don't know why you did what you did, but I promise you this, your sacrifice will not be in vain. Your voice will be joined the voices of thousands of others."

Kaviss' hands were shaking as he placed the mask on his face. Sand crumbled off the old metal, sliding down his face and the jagged burn marks cut against his skin. "From this moment onward, I will no longer listen to the demands of the deaf and blind. I will stop the Mandalorians; I will fight for the Republic and the innocent victims that the Council has ignored for so long. Forget them; they are unwilling to do what needs to be done."

_Snap hiss_

Kaviss looked up to the sky, arms held wide; his saber casting a blue glow across his dark robes.

"But, I will do what needs to be done, for I am Revan and I will no longer stand for this!" Never in his life, had Kaviss felt more right, than in that sudden moment.


	8. Trust Me

**Chapter Eight:** Trust Me

* * *

The holonet was abuzz with the news. Duros and Corellia had fallen to a two pronged Mandalorian strike that left the Republic Joint Chiefs scrambling to respond.

Keida would have killed Mandalore himself if she could have, if only for the stress his war was causing her.

She was alone in one of her penthouses on Coruscant, fresh from a Senate session about what to do about Mandalore's invasion of the Core. Unsurprisingly, the Senators for Duros and Corellia were demanding an immediate counterstrike to liberate their worlds. The Admirals and Generals of the Joint Chiefs balked at the idea, arguing that was Mandalore expected would happen. They advised against haste. Having pushed so far, Mandalore needed to maintain his momentum. Let him overextend himself and dash apart against the allied fleets defending the rest of the Core. Various military terms were used to describe things Keida had no understanding of.

Chimes reverberated throughout the penthouse. Someone was at her door.

Huffing irritably, she walked over to the door and scanned the door camera.

Kaviss was standing outside, waiting expectantly. Kedia had half a mind to let him stand there, but her better judgment got the better of her. Kaviss wouldn't be here if it wasn't important. Besides, he was her creature now.

"Come in," she said, unlocking the door with a wave of her hand across the sensor. The door slid open and Kaviss stepped inside, pulling his hood down as he did. Keida's heart started to race at the sight of his face. Everything was symmetrical, and his green eyes were utterly sexy. His red hair was still messy, but it complimented his face well.

"Senator Eris," he said smoothly. His voice was deep but cultured. Keida hated and loved it because it made her tingle. The back of her mind was whispering to her about secondary sexual characteristics and evolutionary responses to positive mate-selection signals, but she ignored it.

He was smiling, damn him. His Jedi senses could tell him how she felt.

"Your stunt on Cathar has made something of a stir," Kedia said. She walked over to the living room and sat down on one of the couches by the windows. A stunning view of Coruscant's midday skyline greeted her vision.

"Stunt?" Kaviss asked. He sat across from her, his powerful frame making the couch creak. He spread his arms and legs, increasing his lateral space. He looked dominant. "That was no stunt." His voice was still smooth, but Keida noticed the small signs. She had offended him.

"Sorry, I... tend to speak in political terms. When you spend your life looking at everything as an act, it's easy to forget some things are deeper then that." He cocked his head to the side as if trying to puzzle something out.

"I don't envy you," was all he said.

"But I envy you," Keida replied.

"Why?"

"Because... you can feel what other people do, and apparently even hear their thoughts sometimes. Do you have any idea what a gift that would be for a politician?" He smiled.

"Notice there are no Jedi politicians, besides, not all Jedi have such talents. I simply happen to be exceptionally skilled in the cerebral areas of the Force."

"And yet your mind trick failed when you invaded my home."

"You are a remarkably strong willed woman." His eyes suddenly grew dangerous. "But if I really wanted to, I could make you exceptionally open to my suggestions." He didn't say it in a threatening way. He said it like he was simply stating a fact.

"Can... you tell what I'm feeling right now?" Keida asked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Yes." He shrugged.

"You're aroused." Keida opened her mouth to respond, but he continued on. "But I didn't need the Force to tell me that. Your skin is flushed and pupils dilated."

Well, this was awkward.

"I... well," Keida trailed off.

"You asked." And she had, terrible mistake. At least she was decently dressed this time, in an elaborate dress composed of various shades of gray that was cut along the sleeves, exposing the white chemise in puffs of cloth. Not that she'd been aroused last time she spoke to him in person. Terrified maybe, most certainly not aroused.

"It's not my fault," Keida said. "You're hot." His eyes went up at that. "Well you are! If you weren't a damn Jedi I would have said something earlier... or maybe if you hadn't broken into my home and scared me half to death while I was in my underclothes."

"Well, if you want to say something now, I'm all ears."

"I"m guessing you came here for more important things then... that." He shook his head no.

"Don't underestimate the importance of such things, but yes, you are correct, I did come here for other reasons."

"The fall of Duros and Corellia," Keida surmised.

"Was the worst possible thing that could happen. No one's saying it, but the Republic is at the brink of collapse. Two key core worlds have fallen to invading forces, something that hasn't happened since the Great Sith War.

"Do you have some insight as to what must be done? Some Jedi sense telling you what to do?" Keida asked.

"The Force doesn't work that way, but I do have a plan... and I need your help to make it work."

"Explain."

"My 'stunt' on Cathar has begun the split of the Jedi Order, but this doesn't guarantee we will have any operative control in what the Republic does. The Republic wants our help, but offers little in the way of options."

"And you expect me to... what?"

"Use your political clout to put me on the Joint Chiefs," he said it so easily Keida almost believed he was deadpanning a bad joke. Except he wasn't; he was dead serious.

"Are you insane?" She asked. "What makes you even think I can make that happen?"

"You are a powerful Senator with enough strings to sway the Defense Subcommittee to assign me as a Joint Chief in command of the newly formed Jedi Guard."

"Jedi Guard?"

"I thought about calling ourselves the Jedi Crusaders, but that was too... fanatical. The Jedi Guard, elite defenders of the Republic. That has weight to it." Kedia could only shake her head.

She stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of the window. A line of speedercars and transports raced back and forth outside through the airlane.

What Kaviss wanted could be done, but it would cost Kedia more than a few favors. She wasn't on the Defense Subcommittee, but she had leverage over several of the senators who were.

Kaviss hands pressed against her shoulders. He was behind her, looking over her and out the window.

"You doubt me," was all he said. Keida could feel a tingling sensation at his touch, even through the nanosillk of her dress. What would his touch feel like against her bare skin?

"You ask for much," Keida replied. "And offer little in return."

"What do you want from me?" _I want you to touch._ Several different erogenous zones came to mind. _Naughty._

"A plan, I want you to give me a plan." He was silent for a few moments, as if unsure of what to say. Did he even have a plan? His hands didn't leave her shoulders.

"I do have a plan, but I can't tell you what it is."

"Why not."

"Because it's... sensitive. I need you to trust me." Trust, it was in short supply right now.

"Why should I trust you?" Keida asked. "Being a Jedi only takes you so far."

"Look at me," Kaviss replied. His hands left her shoulders. Almost unwittingly, Keida turned around and stared into his eyes.

He didn't blink, he just held her gaze.

"I promise you Keida, my plan will work, if any plan is to work... but I can't do it without you. I _need_ you, Keida Eris." He reached out one of his right hand and placed it gently on her left cheek, fingers just barely brushing against her skin. In that moment, Kedia understood why so many Jedi were willing to follow him. Kaviss' words had a weight to them. Everything about him had a kind of weight. He truly believed what he said.

"Yes," Keida said. "I'll do it." He smiled and it seemed to make his face glow. Was he doing something to her with the Force or was he just being... him? "How do you do that?" Keida asked, barely above a whisper.

"How do I do what?"

"How do you always seem to know exactly what facial expression to wear, what tone of voice to use, what words to use?"

"I believe you did say that we Jedi would make excellent politicians." To Keida's disappointment, he removed his hand. "Passion helps as well. When you are a truly passionate about something, it shows and people notice." It was as if he was echoing Keida's own thoughts.

Neither of them said anything, they just stared at each other. Finally, Keida couldn't take it anymore.

"Do you want to stay?"

"Stay?"

"For dinner... I did promise you another dinner and I rarely have company at my home. I would very much like you to stay." Something that might have been apprehension appeared on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no. I just, well I'm treading on unfamiliar ground."

"Because you are a Jedi." Keida could understand that.

"Yes." He shook his head, almost like he was arguing with himself. "But I've already broken most of the rules and as I said, this is important." He looked directly at her. "I would very much like to stay for dinner, Keida Eris."


End file.
